The Performance of a Lifetime
by Rebelrugger0307
Summary: COMPLETE mysterious teacher, the allure of the music, and some interesting plot twists...give it a chance, like most tings in life, it's better than it seems.
1. Chapter 1

Cassandra Davagé was a student at St. Isabel's Academy for Young Women. It was a Boarding School and she hated it. They controlled every aspect of her life and expected her to enjoy it. The only thing she was pleased with was their music program.

Cassandra lay in her top bunk, dreaming of her prince charming, the music from the Phantom of the Opera movie dancing through her mind when her room mates voice interrupted her.

"Cassie, you'll wrinkle your skirt." Ann squeaked as she came through the door and threw her bag down. "You would think that after three years of being here, you'd have learned that." Ann was the perfect boarder. She was law abiding, neat and quiet; the exact opposite of Cassandra in every way.

Where Cassandra was tall, leggy and curvy, Ann was short, and rather board shaped. Cassandra's long hair hadn't seen scissors in over six years and stopped just above her trim and narrow waist. Ann's hair was a dark, muddy brown color that stopped just above her shoulders. Cassandra herself was quiet, but she hated the boarding school and the policies inflicted on them during the term. She always found ways to rebel, whether it be keeping pets or her beloved CD player, she didn't care.

Cassandra opened her eyes lazily and rolled listlessly from the bunk, careful to hide the CD player in the folds of her blanket before she did so.

"See Ann, no wrinkles. I think I'll survive." Ann buried herself in her homework and listened as the other girl prepared to leave for her next class. "I've got choir this afternoon—later a bunch of us are going to play ERS in the north hall….want to join us?" Cassandra didn't hate her room mate, but wished the poor girl wasn't so socially inept. Ann turned and quickly pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose as Cassandra finished wrapping her scarf around her throat.

"No thanks….I've really got to study."

"Can't say I didn't offer, Ann."

"Miss Hollinder told me to tell you not to be late for choir today….apparently she's got a special announcement before the end of term."

"The old bad is probably admitting to being tone deaf." Miss Hollinder was the music teacher. A feeble old biddy that Cassandra swore had been dug out of some World War II time capsule. Her stockings drooped about her ankles and her orthopedic shoes were hideous. She always wore the same pattern dresses and only in three or four different colors….Black, Navy, Gray and occasionally a shade of forest green.

Cassie took notes diligently in her next class….finals were in two weeks and she needed to be ready. Choir was by far her favorite class, it was something that had always come naturally to her. She entered the room and sat in the back corner watching lazily as the other girls filed in slowly. A bell rang and Miss Hollinder shuffled into the class room and stood at the front of the room.

"Ladies, I have an announcement before you proceed with the rest of class." The old woman tried hard but really didn't have a clue about music. "I'm very sorry to say that the rumors are true—I will be retiring over break." A series of disappointed 'awws' dotted the room. "But I would like to introduce you to your new teacher now so there will be no surprises in January when you return." Miss Hollinder waved at the door and it clicked open softly. All the girls turned in their seats to see who had been hired and several girls gasped as the man entered. He ran a finger nervously around his collar, as if trying to loosen it from his skin. "This is Mr. Villefort. He will be your instructor." Mr. Villefort was the epitome of 'tall, dark and handsome.' All the girls sat taller in their chair to get a better look at this man. He had dark hair that brushed lazily back across his face, especially the left side and stopping at his jaw. His piercing green eyes surveyed the room seeming to look into the souls of the young women before him. Cassandra felt them burn across her and shivered. "I'm going to leave you and Mr. Villefort to get acquainted. Ta!" The old lady shuffled out and left Mr. Villefort leaning lazily against the piano.

"Thank You Miss Hollinder." He said as she reached the door. He had a melodic tenor voice and a slight accent, but from where, Cassandra couldn't say. "Well, Ladies…. Hello."

"Hello." Several echoed back.

"Well—this is rather awkward—for me as well as for your selves, I'm sure." He pushed the hair back from his face revealing some slight scarring about his left cheek, temple and brow. It was nothing deforming but it was indeed noticeable. "Do you have any questions for me?" One girl raised her hand timidly into the air. He pointed at her.

"Where are you from?"

"Denmark—I've lived there for most of my life." A smile twisted his lips at the remark, as if he meant to hide something, but found it hard.

"How old are you?" Another girl asked.

"28"

"Are you single?" The freshman who asked it and her friends giggled lightly at the brash question. Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Yes." More laughter followed. Cassandra raised her hand and waited to be called upon.

"Classical, or Broadway?" All eyes turned to stare daggers at her for directing the class towards music and away from the new teachers' personal life.

"Depends on the situation—I do enjoy classic opera—but Broadway does have a use." He eyed her appreciatively before reaching for a ledger with all their names in it. "Miss Hollinder left this that I may try and learn at least some of your names today. Let's begin—Josephine? Angela? Ah, yes….Michelle?" the list went on and on until he reached Davette Owens.

"Mr. Villefort, you'll excuse me, but I have another question."

"Yes Davette?"

"Will you be reassigning us within the choir? Miss Hollinder is an accomplished woman, but I do believe many of us are ill placed—like myself. I'm currently singing a mere Soprano three, but really ought to be placed as a one."

"You oughtn't even be in the choir." Cassandra whispered to no one in particular. Mr. Villefort's eyes bored into her, amused as if he had heard her whispered oath.

"No worries Davette, I will indeed be reassigning you with-in the choir, to assure that you are all singing well with-in your ranges." He smiled again and continued with the role.

"Casandra Davagé"

"Here."

"Did I pronounce your name correctly?"

"Indeed, you did."

"Excellent." The bell rang suddenly and the girls filed out. "Miss Davagé…I word if I may…."

"Yes?" Cassandra turned and went back to the piano where Mr. Villefort was standing.

"I was hoping you would aid me at times in class—you are one of the oldest here—are you not?" It was true, she and Davette were the oldest in the class.

"Yes—I'll help."

"Thank you." Cassandra left quickly…the man unnerved her for some reason.

Two days later she was once again in choir class.

"What musicals and plays have you ladies done? I'd hate to have you duplicate something." He was at his place beside the piano, leaning lazily against it. Davette's hand shot into the air. "Davette?"

"Well, we've done _Annie, _of course. And we did _Wizard of Oz, _and _Little Women. _And then some other random musical reviews."

"Like what?" Josephine raised her hand cautiously to answer the question.

"We've done Gershwin once, and selections from Classic Opera last Spring."

"Broadway the fall before that." Someone chimed in.

"Why is that?" Villefort asked. Cassandra raised her hand, languidly.

"Well, we can't rightly do a performance with too many men in it—There aren't any. It was extremely difficult to get Mr. Andrews to be Daddy Warbucks and then the Lion."

"What if I were to tell you ladies that your next production would be a famous production by Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber?"

"We sang some of his songs in our review." Tanya blurted out.

"How can we perform Lloyed-Webber? All his works have male songs and leads…" Mia, a good friend of Cassie's asked.

"Very easy—We will be working in conjunction with St. Mark's." St. Mark's was the boys' school across town. "There is a contest in which the best performances will be judged, the winner will go to Paris and the renowned Opera Populaire to perform." Villefort smiled his crooked smile. "Any guesses as to the play?" Cassandra's pen had dropped to the floor.

"The Phantom of the Opera—" She said breathlessly.

"Very good Cassandra." Cassandra's mind whirled. She'd first seen Phantom when she was fourteen and had loved it then. When the movie had come out the Christmas before, she'd been ecstatic. Now a proud owner of both the London production soundtrack and the movie soundtrack and now the DVD she knew the play front to back.

"Who will get to play Christine?" Little Angela asked excitedly.

"We will have auditions starting next week—I want to record you and then I will decide over break." Cassandra's heart fluttered all through class. "I hope you'll be auditioning, Cassandra." Villefort said as she left the room.

"OF course I will."

For the next four days Cassandra heard nothing but the faint strains of 'Think of Me" drifting through the halls. Even girls who weren't in the choir had heard about the auditions and were going to audition with the hot young music teacher. Cassandra had sung 'Think of Me' during the Broadway review and with everyone else singing it for auditions she decided against it. She went to the far side of campus and set her CD player in her coat pocket. The music of 'Phantom of the Opera' blared into her head.

_In sleep he sang to me,  
in dreams he came  
that voice which calls to me  
and speaks my name_

And do I dream again?  
For now I find  
the Phantom of the Opera is there -  
inside my mind  
  
It was two days before break was to start and only the second day of auditions. "Think of Me" floated softly out of the room for only the nine hundredth time. Cassandra pulled her hair over her ears so she could hide her ear buds and listen to something else…she was so tired of that song.

"Cassandra?" Cassandra looked up at Mr. Villefort who was calling from the door. She got up and hastily removed her ear buds when she was sure no one was watching. She followed Mr. Villefort into the room and looked at the poor piano player who was rubbing his nose, the glasses perched on top of his head. She handed him the sheet music but he brushed it away.

"My dear girl, I've played 'Think of Me' so many times already I think my fingers will bleed the notes tomorrow…I don't need your sheet music."

"It's not 'Think of Me'." She said simply, handing him the music.

"Cassandra, I'd like you to meet Mr. Giles, he's the music teacher from St. Mark's."

"'Nice to meet you." Cassandra said as he took the music and placed the glasses back on the bridge of his nose.

"'The Phantom of the Opera'? This is a very hard piece for a young woman."

"'The Phantom of the Opera' has a male part….do you need someone to accompany you?" Mr. Villefort asked without looking up from a piece of paper on which he was furiously scribbling.

"If one of you would care to fill in---"

"I may start into 'Think of Me' without even a second thought. You accompany her Rick." The man spread the sheet music and began to play. Cassandra started out slow but powerfully.

_In sleep he sang to me,  
in dreams he came  
that voice which calls to me  
and speaks my name_

And do I dream again?  
For now I find  
the Phantom of the Opera is there -  
inside my mind   
  
Then it was Mr. Villefort's turn and he began the Phantom part with a power that sent a chill to Cassandra's heart.

_Sing once again with me  
our strange duet  
My power over you  
grows stronger yet _

He hadn't looked up until this last line….the intensity of his gaze threatening to send Cassandra running.__

And though you turn from me,  
to glance behind,  
the Phantom of the Opera is there -  
inside your mind  
  
As if in a trance, Cassandra continued to sing—it was as if the words were coming from her CD player….not herself.

_Those who have seen your face  
draw back in fear  
I am the mask you wear . . ._

Villefort's voice interrupted her line—just as it was meant to.

_It's me they hear . . ._

Together their voices entwined and drifted—melding into one beautiful duet.

_Your/my spirit and your/my voice,  
in one combined:  
the Phantom of the Opera is there  
inside your/my mind . . .  
_

Villefort dropped away from the hold and went into the next verse.

_  
_In all your fantasies,  
you always knew  
that man and mystery

It was Cassandra's turn to interrupt the line

were both in you

Cassandra was staring into Villefort's emerald eyes and felt herself growing lost in their depths.

And in this labyrinth,  
where night is blind,  
the Phantom of the Opera is there/here  
inside your/my mind

Suddenly Cassandra found herself at the last line and she drew herself up to her full height.

He's there, the Phantom of the Opera ...

Her voice began the complicated run of notes. Not that the notes were difficult to maneuver between, but the pitch was difficult to hit. But with Villefort staring her down, those emerald green eyes boring into her soul from behind the dark hair she soon found herself reaching out and hitting the highest note, a glass shattering note sending her into a million pieces…something she'd only done a few times before.

The music stopped as Cassandra eeked out the last note, wringing it from the very depths of her existence. She opened her eyes and stared at the two men in the room. When she'd closed them, she didn't know, but both men were staring intently at her.

"My God, Girl….that was spectacular." Mr. Giles breathed. "I didn't sing a damn thing and you took my breath away." Cassandra blushed. She hated being praised.

"Very nice indeed, Cassandra. You know _Phantom_ quite well…." Villefort ran his hand through his hair and stared at her as she left in a hurry.

"If that isn't our Christine, I don't think there's a girl on the planet who can play her." Mr. Giles said as he watched Cassandra leave the room. Villefort scribbled something on the page in front of him and nodded.

"Indeed…she will make a wonderful Christine."


	2. Christmas

Cassandra opened her eyes and stared lazily out the window onto the quad. It was a foot deep in brand new snow. Christmas was six days away but she wasn't going home. Her dad paid an extra five hundred dollars for her to stay over most of the term. He worked in Russia and it was impossible to get her into the country for a few weeks during the holidays. She was happy with this arrangement anyway…no school meant no rules. No uniforms during the holidays, no rules outlawing CD players or food in the halls. Cassandra padded out into the hallway barefoot and in her pajamas. She knew there were only a dozen or so other girls staying, and most of them were underclassmen. She and Mia were the only ones that stayed consistently—Mia's father was dead and her mother didn't want her home to disrupt things with the new boy friend.

Cassandra's long hair was twisted into a messy bun and her lovely figure was on display for anyone who cared to look. She had pert and well proportioned breasts, long legs, and a tight tummy. She was a very attractive young woman and she knew it. She dressed to flaunt it when she wasn't hidden beneath the decorum that a school uniform dictated. Today she was wearing just her star and moon PJ bottoms and a matching Camisole top and bra. Her gray "St. I's" hoodie was over the top and completed her lazy ensemble.

She went into the cafeteria and smiled at Marcia. The old lunch lady knew Cassie well and often helped her get out of really bad scrapes.

"Hey Marcia---What's cookin'?"

"Eggs, Bacon, and French Toast."

"Yummy." Cassie took the plate and went to sit down in the far corner of the cafeteria. She enjoyed her breakfast by herself.

"You're barefoot." Cassie nearly spit OJ as the person came up from her blindside. She turned to see Mr. Villefort staring down at her.  
"Mr. V—what are you doing here?"

"I'm working—I thought for sure you'd be going home." His eyes dug into her again.

"Uh—no…I can't—my dad works out of country."

"I see." Mr. Villefort sat down across from her. "I hope you don't mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Cassie continued to eat and watched the very proper mannerisms of the man across from her. Cassie knew how to eat properly, but breakfast in the Cafeteria didn't dictate such etiquette. "So, why did you come from Denmark to here?" Cassie asked trying to break the silence.

Mr. Villefort shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea. I was looking for a reason to move—St. Isabel's was looking for a music teacher. Fate chose for me."

Cassie suppressed a belch and patted her chest. "Excuse me." She chugged the rest of her OJ and popped the strawberry into her mouth, chewing rather rudely. "Well, I'll catch you later then Mr. V." Cassie got up and left the cafeteria before Villefort could say anything to her.

Most of break was uneventful for Cassie. There was the big Christmas tree in the Common room and she sat beside the big fire there reading the books she loved. She was in the middle of a Western Novel her father had sent her when Mia came in and started playing with her hair.

"You cheat and open your presents too early." She said winding a strand of Cassie's long hair around her fingers.

"I didn't cheat---the box is still under my bed."

"Serious? You're actually going to wait to open your presents on Christmas this year and be surprised?"

"Well, Tomorrow or when I finish this book, whichever comes first." Cassie replied.

"How much do you have left."

"49 pages." Cassie said turning the page eagerly. Mia ripped the book out of Cassie's hand and bolted for the door. "Mia!"

"Hell no, you have to be surprised just like me!" Mia ran for the door and sprinted down the hall and threw the book into her room, locking the door behind her. "You're going to go to the mall with me and help me pick out a Christmas gift."

"And fight the last minute shoppers?"

"I never said we were going to buy anything." The look on Mia's face was mischievous.

"Would your Christmas gift happen to have two legs, a good build and a penis?"

"You know it."

"I'll get dressed!" Cassie sprinted for her room to change. Man hunting was a favorite past time for her and Mia. She came back wearing tight jeans and a hoodie. She braided her hair back from her face and put on a toboggan. She and Mia went to the bus stop and then sat at the mall for several hours drinking iced coffees and eating pretzels and any freebies they could weedle from vendors. When they returned to St. Isabel's they were tired.

"Merry Christmas, Cassie. I'll see you tomorrow morning, OK?"

"Merry Christmas, Mia." Cassie went back to her room and crawled into bed to stare at the ceiling for the next few hours.

"Wake up Cassie! You lazy Ass!"

"Mia, go away!" Cassie rolled into her pillow and ignored the voice on the other side of the door. She also ignored the sound of it opening. Mia launched herself into the air and up onto Cassie's bunk, landing heavily upon her back. "Ungh—" Cassie grunted as Mia's weight pushed all the air from her.

"It's Christmas!" Mia said shaking Cassie. She grasped Cassie by her shoulders and lifted enough to pull her torso from the mattress. She let go and watched as Cassie flopped back to the surface like a dead fish.

"Five more minutes mom." Cassie said fluttering her hand listlessly.

"Santa came—" Mia whispered.

"Presents!" Cassie did a rolling kick and sent Mia sprawling across the floor below. "Merry Christmas Shit head!"

"Hey, that's just pay back from last year." Mia said while she rubbed her ass where she'd landed on it. It was true, last year Cassie had been excited for Christmas and had gone to wake Mia up. She'd done a flying squirrel style leap from the middle of the room and landed on Mia's bed so hard that the frame cracked beneath the strain. Cassie climbed down and hugged her friend.

"So where's my hottie at?"

"What?"

"You said Santa had been here—I told him I wanted a hot man."

"Oh—I lied." Cassie and Mia ran to the great hall, their present boxes in hand to open them beside the fire. Everyone was excited to see what everyone else had.

Most of the girls in the room were sophomores. There were seven sophomores, four juniors and one senior. They sat around the fireplace with their cardboard boxes and opened them to reveal shiny wrapped packages. Mia and Cassie stopped paying attention to the younger girls and concentrated more on their own boxes.

"Wow—Cassie, check this out." Mia opened a box and held it out towards Cassie. It contained a stunning diamond necklace.

"That's gorgeous! Oh my gosh!" Mia scooted towards Cassie and had the other girl help clasp the necklace about her throat and let her curly hair fall back into place. "It goes great with your PJ's—" Cassie said when Mia turned around for observation. The two laughed. Now it was Cassie's turn to open a present.

"Whoa—an iPod!" Mia squeeked as Cassie tore the wrapping from the box. "This ought to be easier to hide than a CD player." Mia read from the note that fell from the wrapping. "Boy, your dad sure must love you….that or he's tired of reading about your CD players getting confiscated every month."

Cassie was ecstatic—she'd been begging for an iPod for a year now. Mia got socks and quite a bit of money. Cassie got a set of the Russian dolls that stack one inside the other. They depicted the Phantom of the Opera. The largest was masked , then there was a very feminine one inside (Christine), then another masculine one, painted to look like a soldier (Raoul), an older woman (Madame Giry) and of Course a doll painted to look like a dancing ballerina (meg). The smallest 'doll' in the center was a tiny carved red rose.

"Wow—these are so cool." Cassie said placing the dolls back inside one another. "I can't believe my dad got me these."

"What else is there?" Mia asked.

"Let's see—" Cassie also got two $100 gift certificates to Barnes and Noble and money to buy and download songs for her iPod. "This is for you, Mia." Cassie pulled a box from behind her chair and handed it to her friend. Mia opened it to reveal a dancing Hamster toy. It would sing and dance to the song 'Macarena'. Mia loved the song and loved the dancing Hamsters even more—she could set off dozens of them at the stores in the mall.

"Oh, AWESOME!" Mia set it on the ground and turned it on and began dancing with it as it vibrated in the box. Cassie laughed.

"This is yours—it's not as cool as the dancing hamster. Dancing Hamster is God."

"You have four of the damned things."

"But I didn't have the Macarena one! I haven't been able to find Macarena Rat!" It was true, Mia had 'Kung Fu Fighting' Hamster, 'Convoy' Hamster, 'Happy Birthday' Hamster and one that sang 'School's Out'. She kept them in a box under her bed and only took them out when she was feeling really sad or bored. They weren't supposed to have toys, but neither Cassandra nor Mia cared about that. Cassie opened the wrapping carefully and pulled out a book covered in a deep brown leather. In the center there was a panel of black soft leather with a red and green rose painted into it. "It reminded me of the one from the Phantom movie—so I got it for you."

"Mia, it's beautiful." Cassie said running her fingers over it. "It's great! I was almost out of space in my other Journal."

"That's why I got it for you." They hugged and then put all their things back into the boxes. They watched for a while as the other girls played with a new board game. "I can't wait to go skiing next weekend though."

"Me neither—" Cassie said. Mia stood up and stretched.

"I'm starving! Let's go get some breakfast from Marcia." Cassie and Mia were on their way out when something caught Cassie's eye.

"Wait." Cassie grasped Mia's arm and looked into the far dark corner of the room where Mr. Villefort sat watching the happiness at the fire. Cassie strolled over to her teacher and felt his eyes brush lazily over her body. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Villefort."

"Oh---Merry Christmas, Cassandra." He smiled sadly.

"Umm—Mia and I are going to get breakfast, would you care to join us?"

"I'd love to, thank you Cassandra." He rose slowly from his seat. "I'll meet you down there."

"Alright." Cassie and Mia plodded down to the cafeteria.

"Why did you _do_ that?" Mia hissed as the turned into the cafeteria.

"I felt bad for him—he was all alone."

"Cassie, he's weird. I don't know about him."

"Mia, stop it. It's just because he's new."

"Yeah, and Pitbulls are just mis-understood."

Two days after Christmas Mia and Cassie got into a bus with the other girls and headed for a ski resort in New York. Cassie and Mia weren't experts but enjoyed the freedom that skiing afforded them. It also gave them the opportunity to flirt with men. When they returned from their ski trip just after New Years and just before the start of term they were giddy.

"That guy was soo cute!" Mia gushed. "I can't believe you took his number!"

"Doesn't mean I can call it. I told him I go to St. I's."

"Yeah---hey, see you tomorrow." Mia went down the hall to her room and Cassie went to hers. When she got there she found a red rose with a black ribbon tied to the stem taped to her door. She put her bags down and took the rose carefully from the door. There was a card beneath it.

"_Cassandra:_

_I know you'd appreciate the symbolism—I wanted to personally congratulate you on receiving the role of Christine. You did fantastic._

_I'm very excited about working with you in the coming months._

_Sincerely, _

_Richard Villefort"_

Cassie was ecstatic. She'd done it! She was to play Christine!

The next morning at breakfast Cassie and Mia talked about it. Mia too had a rose on her door, the note congratulated her for receiving the role of Meg.

"This is too cool. I think this is the best Christmas ever!" Cassandra said toasting Mia.

"It can only get cooler if the kid playing Raoul from St. Mark's is an actual looker." They clinked their glasses and thought to the coming weeks and the rehearsals.


	3. Meet the Cast

"Ladies, quiet down. Please!" Mr. Villefort was standing at the front of the room. Finally he went to the piano keyboard and beat out a few chords. "Ladies, if you don't quiet down, we'll never get to start rehearsals." The girls quieted down. Mia and Cassandra were sitting in the back of the room in their customary seats. Davette was sitting towards the front. "Now, the girls who made roles in the play were notified upon their return from break. However, it has not been formally announced." Villefort's eyes drifted up to where Cassandra sat.

"Josephine, Angela, Michelle and Colleen are going to be ballerina's in the chorus, along with four girls who are not in the choir, but are rather accomplished dancers." The four girls smiled as the rest clapped. "Davette, will be playing Carlotta." Davette smiled broadly and stood.

"I'm honored. Carlotta is a difficult role to play…the accent and all."

"Yes, Davette." Villefort continued on. "Mr. Giles' wife will be playing Madame Giry. She's a dance instructor and will be choreographing the ballets….rather fortunate actually. Meg Giry will be played by Amelia Cartwright." Mia nodded as the girls turned to her.

"And Christine? Is she an accomplished singer from outside the school? Or some talent that's not in the choir?" Davette interrupted. She was obviously jealous to not get the lead role.

"Actually, Cassandra Davagé will be our Christine." Everyone turned and cheered. Davette fumed, but applauded politely. "Now, our rehearsals will begin on Wednesday at St. Marks. Any young ladies wishing to help with the production, you're more than welcome to. I want all of you to participate; this is a complicated production after all. We'll need people to help with costumes, hair and make up. We'll need people to help with set design, set up, and transition. Mr. Giles and I intend to run this as any production on or off Broadway. We want this to be very professional ladies." Several girls went down to sign up to work as the crew. "Any of you with parts; I need you to stay after for a few moments." The bell rang and the seven girls in the performance went down to the piano. "Ladies, this is your music for the performance." He handed each of them a large, leather volume with the sheet music bound into it. "These are your lines. I'd like you to read through this material and make yourselves familiar with it by Wednesday. On Wednesday we will be going over to St. Marks and meeting our Male counterparts. Any questions?"

"No sir." They all echoed. They filed out the door and into the hall.

Mia, Cassandra and two of their friends, Maria and Elizabeth were up in the North Hall late that night playing ERS and drinking IBC root beer.

"So you're both going to be in the play? That's so awesome." Maria said picking up a pile of cards.

"Yeah, it's amazing. I can't wait to see who's playing Raoul." Mia said, sighing. "He's been REALLY hot in all the other productions."

"Wouldn't it be great if he looked like---what's his name from the movie?" Beth giggled.

"Patrick Wilson? I'd hope he's a little younger than that." Cassandra said sipping at her Cream Soda.

"Do you get to kiss him?"

"Uh—"

"Yep, right here—roof top scene before intermission. And then again after intermission—and then again at the end of the play—oh, and she kisses the Phantom too!"

"Damn, Cassie, that's more action in one play than we get---ever!" Maria tried to slap at a double but missed to Mia.

Cassie was nervous. She'd only ever kissed one boy and it had been at a birthday party in middle school during spin the bottle. It had been a very chaste kiss on the lips, but nothing further.

Wednesday was a cold gray day and the girls bundled up and loaded onto the buses for St. Marks. They were led by Mr. Villefort into a music room much like their own. They sat in the front row, even though Mia and Cassandra desperately wanted to sit in the back. It was several minutes before the boys filed in. All wearing the St. Marks uniforms.

"Ladies, welcome to St. Marks." The girls weren't really paying attention to Mr. Giles' welcome speech. They were staring at the young men sitting across from them. "Jonathan, Michael Corlinder, Michael Thompson, Alexander, Tom, David, Jason and Andy, please stand." Eight very slim and athletic looking men stood. "These are our principle male dancers." Giles announced.

"Angela, Josephine, Michelle, Colleen and Nicole, Stacy, Sara, Mary—our lady dancers." Their eyes glittered as they looked on their dance partners.

"My wife, Meredith, will be here to start working with you shortly. She's stuck in traffic, Christian and Henry will be playing André and Firmin." Two rather older looking boys stood. "Matt—This is our Piangi." The boy was bigger than the more athletic dancers, but still rather slim. "We're going to fit him with a body suit to give him the appropriate bulk for the role." Matt had a cute smile.

"I'm pleased to present Carlotta---Miss Davette Owens." Villefort nodded as Davette stood.

"Nice to meet you boys." She said, her false smile trying to dazzle them.

"And Amelia Cartwright will be playing Meg." Mia stood up.

"I prefer to be called Mia—if you all don't mind."

"Not at all, sorry Mia." Villefort said. The door suddenly opened and in rushed another boy.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Giles—oh." The boy stood up straight and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Just in time, Ryan." Mr. Giles said. "Ryan Alexander, our Raoul ladies and gentlemen." Mia had sat down and elbowed Cassie furiously. "And our Phantom will be played by Mark Howard." The dark haired boy stood up and bowed to the ladies.

"Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort called. Cassandra's eyes were still on Ryan. "Cassandra Davagé, gentlemen. Our Christine Daaé." Cassandra stood and pushed her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Let me tell you boys, she's got a set of pipes on her like you wouldn't believe." Giles said. "You'll have to work pretty hard to match her."

"No doubt of it." Ryan said taking a seat, but still staring at Cassie. She sat down.

"Now, here's how rehearsals are going to run down." Giles said taking a seat behind the piano. "Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays we'll practice here. Tuesdays we'll practice in separate groups. Dancers will be spending time with my wife on those Tuesdays. Mia, you'll be going every other Tuesday, but Meredith wants you to make time to come and see her if you're having problems."

"OK."

"Practices will last for an hour and a half each night to begin with. But they will get longer in a few weeks as we start to piece together the actual performance."

There were more announcements and questions on all sides. When they were dismissed Villefort and Giles went down the hall to check something on the stage. Everyone started talking to everyone.

Davette was talking to two of the male dancers, obviously twins—or at least brothers, and flirting shamelessly with them.

Ryan walked shyly over to where Cassie and Mia were talking by the door.

"Uh—Hi, Cassandra. I'm Ryan—" The boy winced as he realized the foolishness.

"Call me Cassie." Cassie said extending her hand. Mia ducked out of the conversation to go talk to Matt.

"Cassie." Ryan nodded and smiled. It was dazzling to Cassandra. Matt and Mia were talking to Mark. "Well, I really do look forward to working with you on this production. I'm sorry I've got to run, but--I guess I'll—see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely." He nodded and smiled as he left the room with some of the other boys. Cassie went over to where Matt and Mia were laughing at a joke, but Mark seemed left out.

"Hi—" Cassie said pushing more of her hair back out of her face.

"Hello." Mark said gazing at her dully. "I hope you know how to act—that's really the only reason I'm in this production—it's an opening into an acting career." Mark walked away.

"Don't mind him—he's as dull as a dishrag in person, but he acts and sings like no bodies business." Matt said.

"Wow…I hope so."

"I'm Matt Andrews—You're Cassandra, right."

"Cassie." Mia interrupted. "Only teachers call her Cassandra."

"Cassie—I think this is going to be a great performance…especially if you're as good as Mr. Giles says you are. He doesn't throw praise around lightly."

"Ladies, it's time to go." Mr. Villefort said poking his head in the door. The girls filed out slowly.

Later that night Mia and Cassandra were in the library studying.

"Oh, Cassie…Ryan is just a dream!"

"So is Matt." Cassie smiled knowingly at her friend. "You two certainly seemed to hit it off."

"Oh gosh Cassie…you have no idea." Mia leaned against her hand and stared at Cassie. "He's such a sweetie…let's hope it stays that way." Cassie laughed.

"Hey, tomorrow is going to be busy—we better go." It was well past ten thirty and they both had to be up early.

For the first few weeks of practice they did nothing but go over the music. Ryan had a perfect voice—mellow and sweet and it seemed to melt into Cassandra's soul as she listened to him sing at practices. Mark was indeed a very accomplished singer and he could falsetto the notes the way they were done in the Broadway production. It was an amazing talent in a young man.

"Cassandra, could you please sing 'Phantom' for us?" Giles asked. "Don't worry about those high notes, I just want you to run through the main verses with Mark.

Cassandra and Mark dropped right into 'Phantom' and stunned the room to silence. Ryan looked at Cassandra as she was about to start into the run, but Giles cut her off. "That will do just fine Cassandra, thank you."

At five o'clock they got ready to leave. It was Friday and they were well into their third week of practices. They had all the music and most of the lines memorized…it would soon be time to start the acting parts. Cassandra and Mia were walking down the hall with Matt when Ryan ran to catch up to them.

"Cassie, wait!"

"Yeah?" Mia and Matt walked hurriedly down the hall farther.

"Uh—I was wondering…um…are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"No…just some homework…rehearsals have put me a little behind."

"Oh…cuz, I was going to go see that new movie that's out…I won tickets on the radio and was hoping you'd want to go with me."

"Ryan, are you asking me out?"

"Well—yeah." Ryan smiled at her and took her hand into his. "So, do you wanna go?"

"Sure."

"Great…I'd say I'd pick you up, but my car is in the shop."

"You have a car?"

"Yeah—you don't?"

"Well, only during the summer time. We can't have them at St. I's."

"Oh—I see." He smiled. "Well, we'll just have to take the bus then.

"Sounds great…what time?"

"Six thirty….meet early and we can get a burger or something."

"Alright, I'll see you at Burger Bud's at Six then." Cassie walked away with the biggest grin on her face.

She had a date!

"Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort was coming down the hall way, his eyes shining dangerously.

"Yes, Mr. Villefort?"

"I was hoping you could work with me tomorrow on some of your notes. You're inconsistent in hitting that higher range still."

"Well, I've got plans tomorrow—"

"During the night?"

"Well…I don't know how late I was going to be out…but I should be back to St. Isabel's by ten or so."

"Come to my office at ten o'clock then….we really need to get to work on this. Acting starts on Monday."

"Yes Mr. Villefort."


	4. Incredible

The next day was hectic for Cassandra. She woke up early and immediately started working on her homework. It's not that she had a lot of it, but it was intensive. At three o'clock she started to get ready. Waist length hair took forever to get ready. She put on a skirt and a nice top and did her make up. She walked out to the bus stop and left express instructions with Mia to come to the bus stop to meet her a little before ten o'clock.

Cassie and Ryan hit it off well. He held her hand through out the movie. Cassie was surprised how handsome he was in regular clothes. Both schools required uniforms of their students and she'd only ever seen him in his school clothes.

"You look amazing tonight." Ryan said as they walked towards the bus stop. It was only eight thirty.

"Thanks…you look pretty snazzy yourself." Cassie stopped and zipped her coat up. "Thanks for inviting me out tonight. It was a lot of fun."

"Yeah…it really was." He looked at his watch and then back at her. "So, do you want to go to catch a game of bowling or something?"

"I can't. I told Villefort I'd be back by ten to practice some."

"Practice? It's the weekend."

"I know, but he says I'm inconsistent on some of the high notes." Cassie saw Ryan pull a face.

"Your high notes are fine."

"No, he's right, there are inconsistencies."

"Come with me for a minute." Ryan said shortly and he began to drag her off across the mall parking lot towards a little used park.

"Where are we going?"

"The park…I want to show you something." He pulled her into the center of the old park where there was a gazebo. There was no one around and the left over snow was marked with the deep shadows of old footprints.

"Ryan, you're crazy…."

He turned to her…his gray eyes dancing merrily in the moonlight and dim street lamps.

"_No more talk  
of darkness,  
Forget these  
wide-eyed fears.  
I'm here,  
nothing can harm you -  
my words will  
warm and calm you."  
_

"Ryan…" But Ryan didn't stop he continued on, taking her hands in his.

_"Let me be  
your freedom,  
let daylight  
dry -your tears.  
I'm here,  
with you, beside you,  
to guard you  
and to guide you . . ._

He tugged on her hands, entreating her to perform her part of the duet. She hesitated for a mere split second before starting on her part.

_"Say you love me  
every  
waking moment,  
turn my head  
with talk of summertime . . ._

Say you need me  
with you,  
now and always . . .  
promise me that all  
you say is true -  
that's all I ask  
of you . . ."

"This is crazy…"  
Ryan smiled as she finished the verse and began on the next one instantly. Cassie loved this part, he had such a wonderful voice….

_"Let me be  
your shelter,  
let me  
be your light.  
You're safe:  
No-one will find you  
your fears are  
far behind you . . ."  
_  
Cassie was lost in the moment, in his voice, in his wonderful clear eyes. This time there was no hesitation and she began singing with everything in her.

_All I want  
is freedom,  
a world with  
no more night . . .  
and you  
always beside me  
to hold me  
and to hide me . . .  
_  
Again, Ryan's smooth tenor echoed across the park and into the darkness.

_Then say you'll share with  
me one  
love, one lifetime . . .  
let me lead you  
from your solitude . . ._

Say you need me  
with you  
here, beside you . . .  
anywhere you go,  
let me go too -  
Christine,  
that's all I ask  
of you . . .

Cassandra was so entranced that she just let it go and kept singing; no hesitation.

_Say you'll share with  
me one  
love, one lifetime . . .  
say the word  
and I will follow you . . .  
_  
Their voices came together and twisted into the beautiful strains that they'd been practicing for weeks now…

_Share each day with  
me, each  
night, each morning . . .  
_  
Though Cassandra had sung the next lines dozens of times, this was the first time she felt they might mean something more….the words came out softly, like the petals of a rose…

_Say you love me . . ._

Ryan's voice was soft as well with the reply.

_You know I do . . ._

Ryan held the last note for a moment before he and Cassandra finished the verse.

_Love me -  
that's all I ask  
of you . . .  
_  
Suddenly his lips were upon hers. So soft and sweet; yet powerful and needy. Cassandra wrapped her arms around him and seemed to melt into his arms as his tongue slid across her lips. _"So this is what kissing is like."_ She thought as they finally broke the kiss and, still in the moment, continued with the song, the notes crashing, Cassie's voice strong and high….

_Anywhere you go  
let me go too . . .  
Love me -  
that's all I ask  
of you . . . . _

Ryan kissed her again slowly and ran his fingers through her silky hair. Cassie was loving this…the attention, the feelings tingling through her body.

"Cassie, you are amazing." Ryan whispered close to her lips, kissing her softly.

"So are you…" She whispered back, looking into his eyes.

"I guess you should be getting back—you must be cold…."

"Cold? Hmm? Oh—No, Mr. Villefort!" Cassie made to bolt off the Gazebo and into the darkness but Ryan caught her arm.

"But now you know you don't need the practice…that was perfect." Ryan walked with her and pulled her close to him. "You are talented and spectacular. Don't let him change your style or take anything out of it Cassie, promise me that."

"I promise." They waited for the bus and Cassie dashed on. Mia would never believe this.


	5. Exhaustion

"What took you? It's nearly ten and Mr. Villefort will have a conniption fit if you're late."

"I know, Mia. But you'll never believe what happened!" Cassie said dashing off the bus and grabbing her friends arm. "It was amazing Mia, I've never felt anything like that before. I mean—"

"What the hell are you talking about Cassandra? What happened?"

Cassandra related to Mia everything from their date and then the song in the park.

"You did what?"

"Yes, we sang _All I Ask of You_ and then he kissed me."

"WHAT!"

"Oh, Mia, it was amazing…."

"What was amazing, Miss Davagé?" Mr. Villefort's words disrupted Cassandra's story. They were walking down the hall to their rooms, Mr. Villefort was behind them, on his way to the music room.

"Oh—I was just—um…telling Mia about the movie that Ryan and I saw."

"You were with Ryan?"

"Yes…he wanted to talk to me about some of the things for the play." Cassie hoped he couldn't see through her lie, that he hadn't heard their discussion earlier.

"Very well, you'll be in the music room shortly?"

"Yes sir." Mia and Cassie hurried down the hall to put up their coats.

"Tell me everything later, OK?" Mia said as Cassie grabbed her music folder from her desk and dashed out of the room where Ann lay snoring.

"You bet. Later."

Once in the music room Cassie put her music on top of the piano and waited for Mr. Villefort to finish writing something at his desk.

"Cassandra, I'd like you to run through _The Phantom of the Opera_ for me." Cassandra listened to the notes pound out of the piano and began to sing. When she hit the run of notes at the end, she hit the high note perfectly.

"Very good Cassandra. There's a lot of passion in your voice, I want to hear that passion every time you hit the stage, the practice room, anything. Now, start here…" They worked together until Cassandra's voice was near hoarse. "I believe that's all for the night. You may leave now." Cassandra went back to her room and flopped into her bunk. This production was turning out to be more difficult than she thought.

The next few weeks at practices Ryan and Cassandra found it difficult to get together and talk. Villefort and Giles seemed to be finding ways to keep them separated on stage and in class work. Ryan and Cassie couldn't even make time for many dates outside practices because Villefort was keeping Cassandra busy with private practices. There were times when Cassandra couldn't even remember which practices were which, they all blended together. There were even mornings she would wake up and wonder if she'd actually been to the private practice the night before or if she'd just imagined it. Ann often complained of the late night intrusions in her sleeping.

Soon it was time to begin fittings for costumes. There were so many that Cassandra lost count. Then there were the dance lessons she had to go to and somewhere in this dizzying world of rehearsals and practices she had to fit in School and homework. She was running so hard that her health began to suffer.

"Cassie, are you alright?" Mia and Cassie were walking down the halls of St. Marks to go to the stage. Tonight was supposed to be a longer than average practice and they were prepared to run through almost the entire first act of the play. Cassie's pale skin was more pale than usual and her eyes were dull.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah…I'm fine." Cassie shook her head and tried to shake off her funk. She had been up the night before with Villefort working on _Wishing you were Somehow Here Again, _and she was exhausted.

"OK, Act 1—the auction. Let's go people, if you aren't supposed to be on the stage, get off." Giles was yelling. Cassie and Mia went off to sit in the wings.

"I'm going to go get some water, OK?" Cassie went off to the water fountain that was outside the theater doors and took a long drink. She felt tired. She wanted to go take a nap. When she went back inside they were just finishing going through the motions of the last of the chandelier sequence.

"The Technicians will raise the chandelier slowly above you…you need to be out of the way of the arms since it's going to fold out like so—" Mr. Giles looked like he was doing some weird ballet dance as he spread his arms out from his chest and spun. "The Chandelier will be hauled on a series of pulleys up to there…we're getting the janitors to hang that pulley tomorrow." He went back to the audience seat where he and Villefort sat and conversed and called up for Scene II. Cassie was dancing this one and they had to stop several times because she was out of step.

"Cassandra! What's the matter with you?"

"Sorry, Mr. Giles…my head just isn't in it…"

"Well, get your head in it young lady. This is important." Mr. Giles sat back down. This time Cassandra pulled the dance off.

"Better…but it needs to be PERFECT." She ran through _Think of Me_ as if it were old hat and then went right into _Little Lottie_ with Ryan. "Good job Cassandra…Ryan, you need more drive in it. This is supposed to be your friend from childhood and you're falling in love with her all over again."

"Yes sir." Ryan exited and Mark came on to do the Phantom sequence. They moved around the big stage as if the props were in place, but really there was nothing there. Cassandra was singing _Phantom of the Opera_ but heard it as if from a far off place. When she was finished with the final piercing note, she felt winded and ready to collapse. Mark reached his arm out to steady her as she wavered beneath the bright lights of the stage but she waved him off. They were almost finished with the Underground sequence when Cassie felt a horrible buzzing in her ears. She faltered on several of the notes.

"Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort had concern in his eyes as he approached the foot of the stage. "What's the matter with you? You shouldn't have a problem with this—"

"I'm fine…my ear is buzzing is all…I can't hear myself." She shook it off and went back to center stage to sing with Ryan.

_Say you'll share with  
me one  
love, one lifetime . . .  
say the word  
and I will follow you . . ._

Cassie closed her eyes against a wave of dizziness and when she opened them again she saw concern in Ryan's eyes. His brow furrowed as he stared into her eyes. He was part way through his verse when Cassandra's eyes suddenly rolled back in her head and she reeled backwards. She would have cracked her head open had Ryan not had a hold on her arms. He lowered her to the stage and cradled her head in his lap.

"Cassie? Cassie? Can you hear me?"

"Oh my God!" Mr. Giles ran up the stairs while Villefort leapt effortlessly up onto the stage.

"Cassandra? Cassandra, open your eyes." The entire cast crowded in to see what had happened as well as the few techies working in the back.

"Everybody back up, let me through." Ryan said lifting Cassie easily. "Let's get her to your office Mr. G." Ryan, Mr. Villefort, and Mr. Giles went to the office leaving the rest of the cast on the stage to wonder what was going on.

Ryan lay Cassie down gently on the couch in Mr. Giles' office and brushed the hair back from her face. Mr. Villefort brought forward a first aid kit and dug through to find the smelling salts. He broke the stick and waved it beneath Cassie's nostrils before she sat up coughing.

"Cassie?"

"What the hell happened?" Cassie said rubbing her head and trying to get up. "What about rehearsals?"

"You passed out on stage—don't you remember?" Ryan asked.

"What?"

"Cassie lay down—" Mr. Villefort instructed as he disposed of the smelling salts.

"Rehearsals are over for the evening…and I think we'll be taking the next few days off as well." Mr. Giles said. The poor man's hands were actually shaking. Mr. Villefort didn't look pleased by his statement. "You kids have been working too hard. Mr. Villefort and I seemed to have forgotten that you have other things besides this play to be working on."

"But—"

"No buts….no Rehearsals until Friday. That gives you kids two days off." Cassie lay back on the couch and closed her eyes. Two days without practice meant she could actually take a nap.

"Mr. Villefort a word if I may?" Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles left Ryan and Cassie in the office.

"What happened out there Cass?" Ryan said sitting on the edge of the couch looking down at her.

"I don't know—one minute I was singing with you and the next I was laying on this couch. I'm so exhausted Ryan…" Cassie shook her head and looked at the ceiling. "Villefort has been working me into the ground singing."

"I know…every time we try to do something, he calls you in for private practice." Ryan looked over his shoulder at the closed office door. "I don't like him." Cassie grasped Ryan's arm and squeezed lightly, bringing his eyes back to hers.

"It's alright. I mean, I think he just really wants to win this contest."

"Screw the contest! We're high school students Cassie. Not actors." Cassie sat up and leaned into Ryan, his arm going instantly and protectively around her shoulders.

"We open in a month. Our costumes are barely ready, our sets aren't up yet…Ryan, they're as stressed as we are." Cassie smiled up at him. "If we win, we get to go to Paris—if we lose…well, if we lose we get to spend more time together outside of school."

Ryan thought about what she was saying and smiled evilly.

"I think I have incentive to start singing off key."

"If you sing off key, I'll never forgive you." Cassie said playfully hitting him. He leaned down and kissed her.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" He rubbed her back lightly as she leaned into him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He kissed her lightly again before helping her up. She shivered slightly against the exhaustion wracking her body. He walked beside her, his arm around her waist protectively. Mia burst from the stage and was holding Cassie's coat.

"Here, put this on." Mia walked on the other side of Ryan and Cassie as they made their way to the van that carried them to and from St. Isabel's. They turned the corner of the long hall when they saw Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles arguing.

"How can you cancel the next two practices? They need to be prepared!" Ryan, Cassie and Mia went back around the corner where they could hear the argument, but not be seen.

"Did you see Cassandra? Rick, she's exhausted. The boys have been complaining of school work as well. We need them prepared and healthy!"

"How will they know what a life on the stage is like if they don't experience first hand? Life's hard work…they need to be prepared to work through everything."

"They aren't actors though Rick, they're doing this for fun." The voices disappeared farther down the hall way and away from the three students eavesdropping.


	6. Road Trip and another Performance

The nightly lessons continued.

On nights when Cassandra had done exceedingly well, she'd often be given the next night off.

One day she returned from classes to find Ann packing her few belongings and preparing to load them on a trolley.

"What the Hell…"

"Don't swear Cassandra; it's not proper."

"Ann, what are you doing?"

"Getting out of here Cassandra, there's too much weird stuff going on."

"Like what? If it's something I've done---"

"That nutty new professor. You leaving at all hours of the night and returning later….I can't take it anymore. He creeps me out, so I petitioned for a new room."

"Why do people keep saying that…he's really very nice. And you didn't even say anything about it bugging you."

"Well, you were never around." Ann said looking up. "Think what you like, I can't take it anymore. Have fun with the play." Ann pushed the trolley out of the room and left a very confused Cassandra standing alone in her room.

The sets were finally up, the costumes nearly done. They were beginning to work on dress rehearsals. The actors knew the play front to back and, as a joke one afternoon, had performed parts of it almost completely backwards.

"If we don't win that competition, we're hosed." Matt said one day as he, Mia, Ryan and Cassie were lying out under a tree at St. Marks. Mia's head was on Matt's leg and she was picking apart a blade of grass slowly.

"I wonder who else is in this competition…" Ryan said absently looking off at the large gothic dormitories.

"There's a whole list on-line." Mia said absently as she stripped a blade of grass in half.

"What?" Matt sat leaned up to look Mia in the face. "There's a list?"

"Oh, yeah….I saw it one day while Giles and Villefort were working on something in the office. Giles was showing it to Villefort."

"Come on…." Matt grasped Mia under her arms and lifted her off the ground in front of him. "We've got to see this list." Cassie and Ryan were slow to follow as Matt hoisted Mia over his shoulder and carried her towards the building. He put her down and they walked quickly to the computer lab.

"Your tie, Mr. Andrews." Matt re-tied the tie. He'd un-done it while they were under the tree. The lab monitor glared as Matt fixed the offending article.

"Oops." Mia sat at the computer and quickly logged in. It took her three attempts to get the address right, but finally a large theater curtain appeared on the screen and they watched as it revealed a stage, the famous mask and rose on it. The tool bar buttons appeared slowly down the side and Mia scrolled down, finally finding one that said "Schools."

"These are all over the country…." Ryan said looking at the dozens of schools on the list.

"Organize by State." Mia hit the button and the scrolled down to Connecticut.

"That's us." Cassie said as the name _St. Isabel and St. Mark School's_ the only other school performing it was four hours away; _Graceview Public_. Mia clicked on the hyperlink and waited while the information uploaded to the computer.

"They perform in a few days."

"A few days?" Matt looked at the dates closer and then lowered his voice in a conspiratorial way. "We could totally go."

"What?" Mia said turning around.

"Yeah, let's go see what our competition can give us." The loud speakers called all performers to the theater and they had to shut down the computer, ready to make a road trip to Graceview.

"You'll be at our tutoring session tomorrow night, is that right Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort asked on Friday.

"Umm…actually I was going to go visit my Aunt in Bridgeport, Mr. Villefort. She hasn't been feeling at all well." One thing Cassandra could say about the acting skills was that she was becoming a much better liar.

"Oh, well…I hope she feels better."

"Yes…I'm sure she will." Mia and Cassandra met Matt and Ryan in the hall before the end of practice and made their final plans for the weekend.

"We'll come pick you ladies up tonight and head to Stanton. My parents' lake house is there. We can spend tonight, tomorrow night and be back Sunday. It's cheaper than a hotel would be." Matt said. "We've already got food in the back."

"OK, we'll see you tonight then." Mia and Cassie raced off to the bus and waved goodbye.

Cassandra ran to her room and changed out of the uniform and into normal clothes. Then she grabbed her overnight bag which was already packed and headed to Mia's room. They waited until seven-thirty and then headed for the bus stop where Matt and Ryan were to pick them up.

"Hey, good lookin'…where you headed to?" Matt asked leaning out of the passenger window as Mia and Cassie approached.

"Same way as you sailor…how bout you give a poor girl a ride."

"You know it!" Matt leapt from the car and into the back seat with Mia. Cassie took shotgun. She was asleep before they even hit city limits.

"Are you nervous?" Cassie looked into the mirror of her dressing room at the reflection of Ryan striding towards her.

"Yes."

"You look fantastic. You'll do fine." He kissed the top of her head and gave her a white rose. She turned and watched him leave the room and when she turned back to the mirror Villefort was staring back at her.

"I am your Angel of Music. Do not fear me, Cassandra." Villefort held his hand out, a blood red rose in full bloom in his hand. "Wake up Cassandra and come to your Angel of Music."

"Cassandra?" Cassie opened her eyes and peeled her face from the window of the car. "Dude, you were dreaming." Matt said.

"Oh, sorry."

"That's cool…we're here." Cassandra opened the door and bailed out of the car, Mia and Matt right behind. "I'll go open the house up, you guys bring the stuff in." Mia and Cassie grabbed the over night bags while Ryan pulled out a small cooler. When they entered the lake house they were stunned. It was rustic and beautiful. The walls were a beautiful honey gold natural wood. There was a giant fireplace in the middle and high rafters. A loft was visible above as well as a bedroom down the one hall from the main room. They dropped their bags in the den and then went directly to the kitchen and prepared snacks.

"Anyone want a beer?" Matt said opening the cooler.

"Beer?" Mia asked.

"Well, yeah." Matt shrugged as he handed one to Ryan.

"And how did you manage to get beer?" Cassie said reaching for one that Matt offered her.

"Friends in the right places." Cassie opened the bottle and took a swig. She'd had beer several times on her trips overseas and when her father was home, Mia had only had beer once at the family Fourth of July party the summer before.

After they'd eaten they sat down at the big TV and began watching movies that Ryan and Matt had brought. Ryan and Cassie curled up on the big couch to watch the movie while Matt and Mia sat in the overstuffed chair. Mia was sitting in Matt's lap and he was gently stroking her hair and neck. Ryan and Cassie were engrossed with the movie and trying not to pay attention to the others. It became increasingly difficult when in the light from the TV they could see the other couple kissing. Ryan tried not to laugh but found it difficult. In the next flash of light Matt was flipping him the bird, but still very much paying attention to Mia. Cassie looked up to see Ryan smirking. Sitting up slightly taller she caught his attention.

"Stop staring." She whispered close to his ear; his breath feeling wonderfully hot against her neck. She turned her head slightly and gently brushed her lips against his. He brought one hand up to her neck and gently massaged the back of it while the other hand went to her side. He deepened the kiss and felt Cassie press closer to him, her tongue slipping slowly across his lip and into his mouth. He leaned slowly against her and lay her back upon the couch and hovered above her. He glanced up slowly to see how engrossed Mia and Matt were and found them to be thoroughly occupied with each other…considering Matt's hand was quite obviously down Mia's shirt. Ryan went back to kissing Cassie and caressed her side where the bottom of her shirt and the top of her jeans didn't quite meet. Cassie inhaled sharply at the skin to skin contact; the feeling was like electricity running up her spine. Ryan kissed slowly across her jaw line and down her throat while still gently stroking her side and slowly moving his hand higher. Cassie opened her eyes and looked up into Ryan's as he stared down at her. She bit her bottom lip as his fingertips traced across the bottom of her bra, his touch feather light. She heard Mia moan behind her and wondered what Matt was doing to her friend and where it would all stop.

"Not here." She whispered as she grasped Ryan's wandering hand. "Not now." She could hear Mia and Matt whispering in the big chair.

"Umm…I'm sort of tired Ryan. I'm gonna go to bed." Matt said suddenly. He and Mia got up and moved rather quickly down the hall towards the bed room. "You guys can sleep up in the loft. Make yourselves at home." Ryan smiled as they heard the bed room door click shut. He and Cassie burst out laughing.

"Not like we were acting much better." Cassie said laughing. She pushed up against Ryan and maneuvered him into a seated position on the couch. She straddled his legs and sat in his lap facing him. She cupped his face in her hands and leaned down slowly to kiss him, her tongue invading his mouth. She bit his bottom lip teasingly and then went back to dueling with his tongue. She felt his hands work around and slip into the back pockets of her jeans. "Ryan…"

"Let's go to bed…." He whispered. "We don't have to do anything…but let's get off this couch." He kissed her lightly again and the two of them climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

Cassie went to the bathroom and changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth. When she came back into the loft room, Ryan was already in his pajamas. She brushed her hair out and tied it back while he went in to brush his teeth. When he came out she was looking out the window at the dark world outside the lake house. He wrapped his arms slowly around her slender waist and kissed her shoulder.

"Come on….let's go to bed." Ryan pulled her gently to the large queen size bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him leisurely. "What was that for?"

"That's for being so wonderful to me." Cassie said slowly. Ryan and Cassie fell into the bed and pulled the covers up over them. Ryan kissed her and then slowly moved down her throat and across her chest. The low cut tank top left his path clear and he kissed slowly across the tops of her breasts. Cassie moaned as his tongue danced across the top of one of her breasts. His hand was working its way higher and higher beneath the tank top and stopped when he reached the bottom of her bra again.

"Cassie, you are so beautiful….." He kissed her passionately again as he cupped her breast in his hand and slowly squeezed it. She moaned into his mouth as he continued his ministrations. He worked his knee between her legs and began to work his hand down towards the waist band of her pajama bottoms. His fingertips brushed beneath the band momentarily before she stopped him.

"We can't do this Ryan….not yet." Cassie was still a virgin and intended on keeping it that way for as long as possible. Ryan smiled and kissed her slowly.

"I know babe. I'll stop." He made to move away from her but she grabbed his hand and moved it back to her rib cage.

"Don't stop that though." Ryan smiled and kissed her harder while he continued to caress her.

Cassie woke the next morning with Ryan's arms wound tightly around her. She didn't know how long they'd made out for, but it had been quite a bit of time. The sun slanted in the window and she could see the blue sky shining brightly through it. Ryan's hand slowly began to massage her hip.

"It's morning." Cassie whispered.

"Mmmph…five more minutes." Ryan replied. Cassie rolled over in his arms so she could face him. She gently pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips.

"Now…."

"Mmmph…" Ryan groaned momentarily before Cassie began placing butterfly kisses on his lips. He was slow to respond at first. "You are such a tease."

"I know…but wouldn't you rather wake up like this?"

"Hmm…"

"Or….I could just." Cassie gently brushed her fingers across Ryan's sides and reveled in the way he flinched beneath her.

"Hey!"

"Oh…so you ARE ticklish!" Cassandra continued to try to tickle Ryan until he caught her hands in his and brought them up over their heads. "You think you've won?"

"I know I have…"

"And what gives you that idea?" Ryan leaned up and kissed her. "You're such a goof."

"Hey! Quit playing tonsil hockey and get down here…Breakfast is almost on!" Mia shouted from downstairs. Ryan and Cassie laughed and then went downstairs.

"Nice shirt Mia…." Ryan said as he looked at the black 'St. Mark Wrestling' T-shirt she wore. Mia looked down briefly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah….I liked it to."

"Good morning." Matt came in and kissed Mia on the cheek before reaching in the fridge to retrieve the Orange Juice.

"Yeah…Good morning." Ryan reached for a piece of toast and bit into it, grinning at Mia and Matt.

"Shut it Ryan." Matt warned. The four of them ate breakfast and then went out to walk beside the lake. Matt and Ryan were skipping rocks across the glassy surface while Mia and Cassie sat on the rocky beach and let the wind play with their hair.

"So what happened between you and Ryan last night?" Mia asked, the very shadow of a grin passing across her lips.

"Oh no…I get to know what happened between you and Matt first."

"Nuh-uh…I asked first."

"Second base."

"Really?" Mia looked at Cassie over the tops of her sunglasses. "Jeeze."

"What about you?"

"Ummm…"

"You did not lose your…."

"No I didn't." Mia cut in quickly. "I'm not totally stupid."

"Did you go to third?"

"No---but almost….."

"Mia!"

"Hey…he's talented….."

"Oh my god…" The two girls burst into laughter. Further down the beach Ryan and Matt were still skipping stones.

"So what did you and Cassie do last night?" Matt said throwing his stone.

"Whatever do you mean? I was the perfect gentleman and slept on the floor all night long."

"Horse Shit. You've been dating that girl for months now."

"OK, you called my bluff."

"Yeah, so did you two do the nasty last night?" Ryan threw his stone, a devilish grin crossing his face.

"Nope. Got to second…then we stopped." Ryan picked up another stone and threw it into the lightly disturbed lake. "I mean, we're high school kids Matt…"

"I see."

"And you and Mia?" Matt looked over his shoulder to where the two girls were laughing."

"Rounded second….didn't quite make it to third."

"Dude!" Ryan and Matt high-fived each other. "So…is her body as fine as we thought?"

"You have no clue…and you won't either." Matt said throwing his large rock. "Cuz I'll kick your ass if you touch her."

"Dude, I've got Cassie…." Ryan said smiling up the beach to where the girls sat. "She's all a guy could EVER need."

"OK." Matt said laughing. "So what's she like?"

"Hey, you even try to go after her and I swear you'll never be able to reproduce."

"Fair is fair man….I just figured you'd throw a guy a bone here." Matt glanced back up to where Cassie and Mia were talking animatedly. "I mean from what I can see….she's FINE!" Ryan shook his head at his overly horny friend.

After lunch they got ready to drive the remaining way to Graceview for the performance.

They sat in the back row of the auditorium and waited as everyone else filed in. Mia and Cassie were talking quietly to one another about movies coming out in the next few weeks when Matt suddenly elbowed Mia hard in the ribs.

"Ouch!"

"Get down."

"What?"

"Just do it!" Matt slouched low in his seat and pulled the program up to block his face. Mia followed suit and pulled Cassie down with her.

"Why are we…" Cassie asked.

"It's Villefort and the Giles'." Matt interrupted her.

"Shit!" Cassie pulled Ryan down and the four of them cowered in the back row. "What are they doing here?" Mia whispered as she caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Giles and Mr. Villefort.

"Obviously the same thing we are." Cassie replied. Matt kept an eye on the trio who sat front and center.

"Well, we're OK for now." Matt said.

"Alright, we know where they are, we just have to get out before they see us." Ryan replied as he sat back up and tried to look nonchalant.

"Sounds like a plan."

The play started fifteen minutes later. Though it was good, the vocal ranges on the performers were not as good as those in the St. Mark's/St. Isabel performance. The props on the stage looked flat and lifeless and the costumes cheap.

"That's it?" Ryan asked at intermission as the group cowered behind people to stay out of view of their teachers. "Wow…I hope they do something big for the second half."

"Ryan, they're a public school. What do you expect? It's not like they have the money we do." Mia said indignantly.

"True."

"They're doing really well though."

The second act started and continued. Twice their leads missed key notes, and once, the girl playing Carlotta knocked a prop over.

"I hope they clean it up before it gets judged." Matt said clapping as an Act changed.

By the end of the performance most of the people in the audience were stunned. For a High School theater performance, it was remarkably good, but none of them knew what was in store at St. Marks. During the final curtain Matt, Mia, Ryan and Cassie made a mad dash to get out of the theater before anyone else. Though they drew evil glares from some of the parents, they didn't care. Getting seen by their teachers would be far worse.

"Oh my God…as long as Davette doesn't fuck anything up, we'll be fine." Mia said sliding into the back seat of the car.

"Our vocals are so much better than that. Cassie can sing a hell of a lot higher than Miss Twinkle toes back there."

"Seriously." Ryan said. They went back to the lake house and continued their discussion of the performance before retiring for the evening.

The next morning everyone packed their things and prepared to go back to school. They couldn't wait for their performance to start in two weeks and be judged.

_A/N: I'd really appreciate it if someone would be kind enough to review...All comments are welcome...just so I know whether or not this is worth continuing._


	7. Nerves

"Excellent Job people—" Mr. Giles said. "if you do this well in a few days, we'll win—No doubt of it!" It was Wednesday and their performance would start in a week and a half. The sets were up for the most part and the props in place. Cassie was having the last bit of her final costume taken in and hemmed.

"Good—that'll do it." The woman said. "Now just don't grow, gain weight or lose any." Cassie took the costume off and put on her jeans and a T-shirt. Some of the cast members were going to be doing set work to help the techies and Cassie was one of them.

"Now, I need two or three people to stay behind to paint our sandwich board." Mr. Giles announced as Cassie entered the stage again. "Any Volunteers?" Cassandra and Mark raised their hands, as did Ryan a split second later. Cassie was a little annoyed that he volunteered…he always seemed to be around her. "Ah, our three leads—excellent!" The three of them went to the lobby and looked at the plywood sign board and the cans of paint.

"So—what should we do?" Mark asked.

"Well, if we got an overhead projector, we could draw the design or copy it on a transparency. And then project it on the board…."Ryan said scratching his head and thinking about the logistics.

"Sounds good to me." Cassie replied. "Mark and I can paint the boards black while you go copy the design and secure the overhead."

"Alright." Ryan didn't seem too happy and Cassandra saw the saw the glance that Ryan shot Mark's back. "I'll be _right_ back."

Mark poured the black paint into a tray and began to roll it onto the ply wood. Cassie went to the other side and did the same.

"You're very talented." Mark said suddenly. "I'm glad they cast you as Christine."

"Thank you." Cassandra rolled the paint out smoothly, covering the natural wood. "You're talented too."

Mark sighed deeply. "I hope I'm worthy."

Cassie stopped painting on her side of the board and leaned around to stare at Mark. His brow was deeply furrowed as he painted.

"Mark, you have a fantastic voice. Your acting is remarkable. We're lucky to have you for our Phantom." Mark looked up at her and smiled shyly.

"You think so?"

"I know so." A loud crash in the hallway alerted them to Ryan's return with the overhead.

"Stupid cart crashing….shit." Ryan wheeled the cart in and looked to where Cassie and Mark were staring at him. "Sorry—cart ran into the wall."

"Right…because there's just no such thing as operator error." Cassie rolled her eyes at him and put her roller back in the tray.

"You know…" Ryan shook his head. "If you weren't a girl, I'd soooo throttle you."

"And what does my being a girl have to do with anything?"

"Because I might catch cooties!" Ryan ran from the room as Cassie sprinted after him.

"I'll be back in a second Mark!" Cassie called back as he laughed.

"Take your time Cassandra….take your time."

Cassie ran into the outer foyer and looked around for Ryan. She was about to head for the far doors when she was grabbed around the waist and pulled back into the shadows behind a column.

"Operator error, huh?" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her behind the pillar. "That's not very nice." Cassie pushed away from him and laughed.

"You're so childish!" She hissed. Ryan kissed her and she moved to get away. "We have to get chalk and the image that we're going to use….there's no time for that."

"You're right." Ryan said, trying to look serious. "There's no time for this foolishness…..come! We must go on a quest!" He grasped Cassie's hand and pulled her off down the hall way.

Ryan picked up the transparency from the copy center and then the two of them searched for an unlocked classroom to find some chalk. Cassie found an unlocked door and ducked inside to get the chalk, Ryan close behind.

"Oww!" Cassie squeaked as she ran into a desk in the darkened class room. She found her way to the chalk board and ran her hand along the chalk tray trying to find a few good sized sticks. Ryan's hand wrapped slowly around the waist of her jeans, his thumb brushing against her skin. "Ryan—"

"Shhhhh…." Ryan kissed at the nape of her neck slowly and moved his hand carefully up her side. His breath was hot across her shoulder and collar bone as he continued to nuzzle her neck. "God, I love you Cassie…." Ryan turned her around and pinned her up against the chalk board and kissed her slowly. Cassie moaned against his lips as he slipped his tongue across hers. Cassie wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck as lifted her up and set her on the instructor's desk beside them. He stood between her legs and ran his hand slowly beneath her shirt. Instinctively she arched into him, enjoying the sensations his hands caused in her.

"Ryan…we can't do this here…." Cassie breathed into his neck as he kissed the side of her throat. "We'll get caught." What Cassie didn't want Ryan to know was how close she was to letting him take her right there on the desk in the classroom. She was so horny she couldn't have helped it. Ryan kissed her lips again and helped her up off the desk.

"Sorry babe…..I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright." Cassie stood on tip toe and kissed Ryan back. "But Mark is going to wonder what happened if we don't get back soon." Even in the dark Cassie could see Ryan's face twist at the mention of Mark's name. "What's that face for?"

"Nothing…I've just never liked Mark much…he's so condescending."

"Oh, grow up, Ryan." Cassie grabbed a box of chalk from the chalk tray and left the room. "It's not like he's going to steal me away from you or anything." Cassie turned when she realized Ryan had stopped. "Are you afraid he's going to win my heart over?" Ryan didn't answer, but continued to stare Cassie down. "I'll have you remember, Ryan, that Christine chooses Raoul over the Phantom…..what goes for Christine goes for me…you don't have to worry, I hope you know that. You've stolen my heart and I don't know if I'll ever get it back." Ryan hugged her tightly and then the two of them returned to the foyer hand in hand.

When they got back to the lobby Mark was there tuning a radio.

"Sorry, I got bored and went to get my radio." Mark said as they came in the room.

"It's ok, we couldn't find chalk." Ryan said lamely. "We had to get a janitor to open the door for us.

"Well, are we ready boys?" Cassie said as she centered the transparency on the projector and flicked the switch. Ryan and Mark traced the design and Cassie followed behind them and caught the lines they didn't. When they were finished, Cassie turned off the projector and looked at their work. Sure that they had all the lines they flipped the board around and began to work on the other side. Mark traced the pattern while Ryan and Cassie started to paint. Ryan worked on the mask stating that it was simple and required less detail. Cassie started on the rose. Occasionally their hands would get in the way of the other painters' brush and they'd get paint on one another.

"Stop painting on me, Ryan." Cassie said nudging him.

"It was an accident—but keep your hands out of my way."

"It most certainly was not an accident. You painted a smiley face on the back of my hand!"

"Coincidence" Ryan said, laughter clear in his voice as he leaned over and stole a kiss.

"Am I going to have to separate you two?" Mark's voice asked over the sign. They all laughed and Cassie finished the rose and went to start on the letters while Ryan moved to the other side to paint he mask.

"Cassie, would you pass the—" Mark asked as he came around the sign board. He never finished the sentence as he started to laugh. "Ryan, go get a camera or something, quick."

"Why?" Ryan leaned around the sandwich board and began to laugh harder. Cassie pushed a strand of hair out of her face but still didn't understand what was so funny.

"What?"

"You've got paint all over your face." Ryan laughed.

"It looks like war paint." Mark said. This only served to send Ryan and Mark into an even stronger fit of laughter. Cassie looked at her fingertips and saw them stained with blue, red, green and white paint. She could only imagine that she'd smeared the paint onto her face.

"I hate you both." Cassie said getting up and going to the bathroom. They were right…it did look like war paint. She washed it off as best she could but could still see flecks of it across her cheeks and in her hair. "I think I had more paint on me than I do on the board." Cassie announced as she came back in. They finished one side of the board and most of the other before Mr. Giles came in and told them it was time to pack up. He approved of the work they'd gotten done so far and told them they could work on it again the next day.

The days flew by and soon it was the weekend. Every evening Villefort had been working with Cassandra on the operatic pieces. Friday night, Cassandra returned to her room and fell into bed.

"_Are you nervous?" Cassie looked at the reflection in her mirror to see Ryan in costume._

"_Yes."_

"_Don't be…you'll be phenomenal." Cassie gulped and continued to stare at her reflection. Her blonde hair had been curled into dozens of tiny ringlets. She was dressed in the costume for her first time on stage—that of a slave girl for '_Hanibal'_ "Breathe Cassie—just breathe." Ryan placed a gentle kiss atop her head and left to prepare for his first act. He was the old man at the auction for the Opera House. Cassie stood and made for the door when Mr. Villefort met her there._

"_Cassie, good luck this evening." He handed her a bouquet of blood red roses. "These were sent back stage. It would seem you have an admirer." Cassie took the bouquet and inhaled the heady aroma. Mr. Villefort bowed out while Cassandra read the careful script on the card._

"_Do well tonight—sing sweetly—the Angel of Music is watching."_

_Cassie shook her head and quickly moved to the corridor. _

"_The play starts in ten minutes!" Mr. Giles shouted. "Good luck, and Cassie, please wake up!" _

Cassie's eyes shot open and she looked around her room. Mia stood impatiently on the floor staring fixedly at her.

"What time is it?" Cassie asked sleepily.

"Almost nine. Villefort's having a cow."

"Oh no!" Cassie leapt from bed and quickly dressed. She and Mia dashed up the hall to where Villefort was playing something on the piano.

"We're here Mr. Villefort." Mia announced cheerily as they entered the room. "I told you I'd find her."

"Cassandra, you're late." Mr. Villefort didn't look at her but continued on the piano as everyone else stared at her.

"Sorry—I over slept."

"Don't let it happen again." His green eyes stabbed through her his glare was so harsh.

"I won't." She said meekly and took her place.

"Mr. Villefort?" Davette said simpering from beside the piano. "Mr. Villefort, if she's always late for practice how will we EVER be prepared to perform this week?"

"We'll be ready Miss Owens—do not worry."

The rehearsal was short. Everyone sang perfectly and Villefort released them within an hour and a half of their arrival.

"Good ladies—it would seem we are prepared. If you sing as well on opening night we just might win that competition." For the first time Cassandra felt uneasy in the man's presence, for as he said this his eyes held a maniacal glow. Davette went to Villefort's side asking what to do about her voice and certain songs and mannerisms she should employ in her act. Cassandra used this as an opportunity to slip out of the choir room and to the pay phone to call Ryan.

"I need out Ryan, now. Please, I'm gonna go crazy if I don't leave."

"Alright, I'll be at the bus stop in ten minutes."

"Thank you!"

The Saturday morning rehearsals were getting on Cassie's nerves—especially with the private tutoring on the side. True to his word Ryan pulled into the bus stop ten minutes after Cassandra had hung up the phone with him. She leapt gratefully into the car and sighed as Ryan pulled away from the curb.

"Where to, my Lady?"

'Anywhere but here…or St. Mark's." Cassie added quickly. The day was warm for early April and Ryan quickly drove to one of the larger parks in town. They walked hand in hand to a shaded park bench where Ryan and Cassie could sit side by side in private.

"I never thought it would be so hard."

"The play?" Cassie nodded as she lay her head in Ryan's lap.

"All these practices—I'm so worn out." Her voice drifted off slightly and Ryan brushed his fingers through her hair and swept it away from her face.

"So, don't think about that right now." Ryan bent low and kissed her forehead. He began to sing softly, "No more talk of darkness—"

"Oh God!" Cassie laughed as Ryan sang and grinned above her. They relaxed beneath the spring blooms all afternoon before Ryan finally took Cassie back to St. Isabel's.

"I'll see you at practice—Dress rehearsals all week you know."

"Yeah—See you this week." Cassie went inside and up to her room to finish her homework. A note was taped to her door when she got there. The odd script slanted across the page menacingly, even thought the subject was quite innocent.

_I believe I have something of yours._

_Report to the Choir Room to retrieve it._

_R. Villefort._

Cassie folded the note and walked down to the choir room where a haunting melody spilled from beneath the door. She knocked gently at the door and opened it slowly to find Mr. Villefort playing passionately at the piano.

"Mr. Villefort?" Villefort turned and glared at her, his fingers never coming off the keyboard.

"Cassandra, good of you to drop in."

"I found this note on my door…." Villefort pointed to a stand in the corner with his right hand while the left played on. On the music stand sat her file of Music for the play. "Oh." Cassandra crossed to the stand and collected her music. "I guess I forgot it." She said pathetically.

"Obviously." Cassandra clutched the music to her chest as if it would protect her and made to leave the room. She was halfway to the door when his voice cut into her. "Are you in love with him?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked if you love him." Cassandra turned to Villefort and watched as he slowly rose from the piano.

"I don't know what you're talking about—"

"Don't play dumb Cassandra, it doesn't become you." His voice was cold and harsh, almost a hiss.

"Mr. Villefort, what I do in my personal life doesn't concern you." Cassandra backed away from this man who suddenly intimidated her. "I'll see you at practice on Monday." She was rushing down the hall way when someone else spoke to her.

"You shouldn't piss him off Cassandra." Davette's simpering tone cut into her thoughts. "He's very talented."

"Davette?" Davette grinned and slinked down the hall. "Fuck off!" Cassandra whispered under her breath and rushed back to her own room, making sure to lock the door once inside.


	8. Showtime

The Theater Groups of St. Mark's Academy for Young Men and St. Isabel's School for the Advancement of Young Ladies is proud to present to you this evening…

_Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera"_

_**Starring**_

Cassandra Davagé……………………………………………………..…Christine Daaé

Mark Howard…………………………………..…………….The Phantom of the Opera

Ryan Alexander……………………………...………….Raoul, The Vicomte de Chagne

Davette Owens………………………………………………………..Carlotta Giudicelli

Matthew Andrews…………………………………………………………..……..Piangi

Meredith Giles …………..……………………………………………..….Madame Giry

Amelia Cartwright………………….…………………………………..………Meg Giry

Christian Jones……………………..…………………………………….……..Gil Andre

Henry Phillipson…………………………………………………………..Richard Firmin

_Chorus Dancers_

Angela Asamond, Stacy Bellagit, Jonathan Bellasarus, Michael Corlinder, Mary Drake, Nicole Edwards, Michelle Grayson, Andy Harrison, Jason Harrison, David Kaveney, Sara Marquette (Carlotta's Aid), Josephine Michaels (Carlotta's Aid), Alexander Michelsson (Buquet), Colleen O'Malley, Tom Smith, Michael Thompson

Directed By: Richard Villefort, Horrace Giles

…………Tonight was the night that they had all been waiting for…….A night that they would never forget………….


	9. With Baited Breath

It was over.

Their run of Phantom was over.

St. Mark's stage still held the props from the greatest performance either school had been a part of. The cast lay listlessly about it….too attached to the months of work they'd put into it to tear it all down and compact it. Even the sandwich board that the leads had painted sat in the aisles of the now empty auditorium….the two extra days haphazardly painted on in mismatching paint; they'd had to add two nights to satisfy the number of people desiring to attend the performance. They'd been judged….and now, they must wait…just as they'd been waiting for the past week and a half.

"Last night was the last performance. The last…." Mark sighed. "When will they tell us?"

"I mean, it must be a hard decision." Jonathan said. "If we were as good as we were, there had to have been someone equal par."

"Or no one." Matt mused. "Come on….we've got Cassandra Davagé singing the lead….how many standing ovations did she receive over the course of a week of performances?"

"Seventeen?" Mia asked.

"No, I think it was nineteen…." Ryan mused from beside her. "She had those two nights where they applauded after the curtain call remember?"

"Right….too true." Mia said grinning. Cassandra blushed. She'd blushed bright for every ovation she'd received. She and Ryan were lying on the stage with the rest of the cast, her head lay upon his outstretched thigh.

"Regardless…they've got to tell us soon." Ryan sighed.

"Let's go bowling." Someone suggested. "I can't stand being here another moment waiting." The cast filtered out slowly.

But the next day was the same. Everyone gathered at the stage and waited with baited breath for an announcement.

The days turned to weeks. Members of the cast began to despair that they had lost the competition. A pall hung over St. Mark's auditorium.

"It's in!" Andy and Jason Harrison came barreling through the doors of the auditorium and down the wide center aisle towards the stage where the cast had gathered for yet another day of waiting. They still weren't sure why they did it; not even Giles and Villefort were present.

"What's in?" Matt asked, a newspaper over his face.

"The letter!"

"The letter?" Matt sat up and took the paper from his face.

"The letter." Mia turned abruptly and looked at Cassandra, hope shining in her eyes.

"So what's it say?" Ryan asked leaping from the stage and grasping Jason by the shoulders.

"I don't know….Mrs. Jefferson just went toodling down the hallway with it in her hand…"

"Dammit!" Everyone started talking at once, the air full of electricity and excitement.

"Can you imagine Paris?" Someone asked. "It'll be so cool….I'm sure we'll get extra credits for art, and language and stuff."

"What if we lost?" Mark asked from his place on the stairs. Cassandra, Matt and Mia turned to him, Ryan was still busy pacing the width of the center aisle and running his hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you imagine the performance they must have put on?" Mark was staring off into the black abyss of the auditorium. Cassandra sat down beside him and looked towards the same infinite dot. "The vocal ranges…the talent…."

"The only people that could have done better are the London cast with Sara Brightman and Colm Wilkinson or Michael Crawford." Mia retorted. Everyone was still arguing busily on stage when the auditorium doors burst open and Giles and Villefort came bustling down the aisle.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please!" Mr. Giles shouted. Still the buzz continued. Cassie and Mia put their fingers in their mouths and let loose whistles that would have stopped buses. "Thank you ladies." Mr. Giles seemed flustered. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like your attention. We have received a letter from the group sponsoring the competition. I know we're all anxious to find out the news…."

"You mean you haven't opened it yet?" Jason asked.

"Well….no. We wanted to open it in front of you."

"Then open it, Mr. Giles!" half the cast yelled together. They were gathered precariously at the edge of the stage. Some were holding hands, silently praying for the good news that they hoped the envelope contained. Mark clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly and Cassie took his hand in hers. He looked into her eyes at the small gesture.

"I'm nervous…." She whispered with a smile.

"Me too."

"Rather anxious aren't we?" Mr. Villefort said from the shadows.

"We've only been waiting three and a half weeks." Sara said impatiently from her place on the edge of the stage. Villefort shrugged.

Mr. Giles held the letter tightly in his hands and sighed….

"Here it goes." Mr. Giles slipped his finger beneath the flap that held the envelope closed and slit the envelope open. Despite Villefort's previous aloof manner, he leaned forward to peer to where Mr. Giles slowly and carefully pulled the letter from the envelope.

_A/N: Cliffie. Ha Ha Ha... It'll be a few days before my next update, but since several of you asked, you shall recieve the next few chapters. Enjoy, and keep reviewing, I really appreciate it and love the criticisms and responses I'm getting, so PLEASE keep them coming! Have a great weekend everybody._


	10. The Results

Young Thespians Theater Group

5309 N. 17th Street, St. Angela Center

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

To Mr. Horace Giles and Richard Villefort,

Those of us here at Young Thespians are pleased with the outpouring of support and triumph garnered with our recent competition; of which you were a part.

We have finished the judging process and it was indeed intense.

However, we are pleased to inform you that you and your talented young actors and actresses will be traveling to Paris in one month's time to perform at the World Famous Paris Opera House.

Congratulations Gentlemen….we will be sending you more information within the week with travel information.

Sincerely,

Aaron Hargrove

Pres. Young Thespians Theater Group


	11. Trials and Tribulations

The stage was deathly silent for a moment as Mr. Giles read the letter over.

"Paris…." Someone whispered. The stage suddenly burst into wild cheering and excitement. Matt grasped Mia from around the waist and swung her around the stage in a mock waltz. Mark and Cassandra leapt into the air and hugged one another tightly. Ryan slapped Jason on the shoulder and everyone else was screeching and shouting with all the energy they could muster.

"We're going to Paris!" Cassandra shouted as Mia finally extricated herself from Matt. "We've done it!" Mia shouted back. "I can't believe it Cass, we're gonna be going to Paris!"

Cassandra ran down the hall of St. Marks and found a pay phone. She could still hear the cheers and shouts bursting from the auditorium. She pulled her calling card from her wallet and dialed the number and then the number where her father was.

"Hello?" The voice sounded slightly sleepy.

"Dad?"

"Cassandra?"

"Daddy!"

"Sweet heart, it's almost one thirty, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry dad, but I just had to call and tell you the good news….I got excited and forgot about the time change."

"It's alright, but what's the good news?"

"The play I was in….we won the competition! We get to go to Paris!"

"What?"

"The Phantom of the Opera…."

"The play you went and saw?"

"No…I was in it Dad."

"Oh….right."

"Well, it was part of a competition---and the winners get to perform in Paris in a few weeks at the Paris Opera House. And we won!"

"That's fantastic sweet heart…I'm sure it will be very exciting to see it."

"Are you going to be able to take the time off to come?"

"Oh, no…I meant for you—"

"Dad, have you listened to a word I've said?"

"How much is this trip going to cost? Or is St. I's providing scholarships?" All the happiness Cassandra had previously felt flowed from her body as she realized her father had no clue what she was talking about.

"Go back to bed Dad….It's no big deal…don't worry about it."

"Cassandra?" Cassandra slammed the phone down and pressed her face against the cool metal of the box. Hot tears brimmed at her eyes she was so frustrated with her father at that moment.

Cassandra sniffed back the tears and walked out of the phone booth.

"Is everything alright Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort was standing in front of her, his dark hair swept back from his face.

"Fine, Mr. Villefort." Cassandra's voice was flat with her lack of excitement.

"You don't seem fine." Mr. Villefort stood in her way and kept her from getting past. "Would you care to talk about it?"

"It's no big deal."

"So, 'No big deal' can set a strong young woman such as your self to crying in a phone booth?" Cassandra looked up and glared at Mr. Villefort. "I know you don't want me involved in your personal life, Cassandra….but I want you to know that I'm here, and available at any time at St. Isabel's if you need to talk." Mr. Villefort made to turn when Cassandra spoke.

"He didn't even care…."

"Who didn't?"

"My father." A single tear streaked down her face as she stared Villefort down. "After all the work we put into it—I put into it—He just doesn't care."

"I'm sure you must be mistaken."

"He didn't care!" Cassandra shouted and then tried to calm herself down again. She tried to fight the tears back, she really didn't want to cry in front of Villefort, but realized it was going to happen anyway when a big sob burst forth. "He's always gone….He just—" Cassandra started to cry harder and the big sobs shook her whole frame. Villefort walked forward slowly as Cassandra cried. He reached out and gently rubbed her shoulder. Without much prodding at all Cassandra turned into Villefort and let him comfort her.

"It'll be alright Cassandra." Villefort said in his wonderfully resonant voice. "Don't cry…." Cassandra sniffled a few more times and then pulled away from Villefort. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry Mr. Villefort. I didn't mean to—"  
"It's alright….we've all got to let our emotions out sometime." Cassandra wiped her face with her hands and shrugged. "Go wash your face, and return to the stage. We've got some things we have to go over before making travel reservations." Cassandra nodded and moved off to the bathroom.

"Thank you….Mr. Villefort." Mr. Villefort watched as she turned the corner and disappeared down the hall to wash her face.

When she returned to the stage she acted just as happy as ever. Ryan sensed that something was wrong, but decided not to mention it until they could get a private moment.

"What's up, Cass?" Ryan said after the business at the stage was finished. "You seem a little put off." He was walking with her back to where the buses would pick the girls from St. Isabel's up. He held her hand gently as the others moved quickly around them.

"Nothing…"

"Cassie…"

"I'd just rather not talk about it." Cassie said shortly. "It's a personal thing….I'd rather forget it."

"If you say so." Ryan hugged Cassandra before she got on the bus with the other girls and wondered what was going on with her.

He made his way to the computer lab. He had a date to plan in Paris.


	12. Traveling

A month and a half later school was out and the students of St. Mark's and St. Isabel's were meeting at the Hartford Airport. The late afternoon sun shone down through the skylights and made hot patches in the ticket line.

"I can't believe you graduated." Mia said as they pulled up to the airport. "That's insane." Mia and Cassandra had stayed at St. Isabel's for the interim period. Cassandra's father was still in Russia and Mia's mom didn't want to pay for a plane ticket and then have to send her back to the area for a flight to Paris. It was more economical and fun for all parties involved.

"I know."

"So does that mean you're a free woman on the trip?"

"Not exactly. They made me sign a contract saying I'd abide by all St. I's rules as long as I'm traveling with them, even if I'm no longer a 'member of the student body.'" They'd made it expressly clear that the rules of their school's applied, even if they weren't necessarily in session. It just meant that no one was going to be allowed to bring prostitutes to the rooms, call for pizza at all hours of the night or anything of the like. The seniors had been pulled aside and given rules that they were not to influence the other students into rebellion. While a strict curfew would be held for the underclassman, the graduates would be allowed to run on a much longer leash.

"But I will not tolerate all night drinking binges. You people are not to touch alcohol." Mr. Giles admonished. "And no driving…at all."

"Yes sir." They had echoed.

"That sucks." Mia heaved out her gigantic suitcases and threw them down on the sidewalk as Cassie did the same with hers.

"Oh, Cassie—do you think we can do it?"

"I know we can, Mary. We're gonna rock this." Cassie said setting her heavy suitcase down. She, Mia, Mrs. Giles and two of the other dancers had combined their dress clothes into one garment bag. It allowed them to pack more in their suitcases. They had been required to go out and get formal dresses because there was going to be a gala banquet thrown in their honor. Cassie had chosen a slinky black and white number. It was simple, but elegant and showed off all her curves. She was immensely proud of the dress she'd found.

Their flight boarded in and Cassie was disappointed that Ryan was so far away from her. They shrugged. The flight would be short from Hartford to New York.

"A four hour delay?" the students behind Mr. Giles as he found out the disturbing news. "But what of our flight?" Cassie slumped against the wall and sighed.

"Alright…we're staying in the airport….we're going to try to fly standby on an earlier flight…." Mr. Giles announced. "As it stands, our flight is four hours behind schedule, but the flight crew is going to have to be replaced and they're saying it could take twice as long as that to get our flight off the ground."

"That would mean it would be at least midnight before we got off the ground." Someone said.

"Exactly. So get comfortable." Mr. and Mrs. Giles moved off down the terminal in an effort to find someone that could secure the students blankets. There were twenty five cast members and another dozen or so technical workers. Some were going to get to work the lights, but mainly they were just there to help with the sets and costumes. The large group lay down at the gate and made the best of their 'camp out' in the airport.

"ERS?" Cassandra asked pulling a deck of cards from her back pack. Mia instantly agreed and pulled money from her wallet and made a dash for a vending machine.

"ERS?" Ryan, Matt and Mark asked.

"Egyptian Rat Screw." Cassandra said dealing out to five people. "Don't ask why it's called that…I don't know." Mia returned with root beers for everyone.

"It's not IBC, but it'll have to do."

"Now, you play by throwing your first card down. Mia will start since she knows what she's doing." Mia smiled.

"Virgins?"

"Yep." Mia snorted at the confused looks on their faces.

"Anyway, if a Jack goes down you have to put four cards down and hope for a face card or ace." She said to Mark who was sitting on Mia's left. "If it's a Queen, you lay down three, King two and ace one. But you have to get a face card or Mia gets to pick up the pile."

"If two cards go down back to back, like two six's, and you slap the deck, you get it." Mia interrupted. "Or if there's a sequence down like 7, 2, 7. Then that's a sandwich and you can slap that too."

"Everyone clear?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, clear as paint." Matt sighed. "But the game sounds familiar…we'll pick up on it as we go."

The boys were better than the girls bargained for.

"You've played before!" Mia shouted as Matt slid his hand beneath hers.

"We never said we hadn't." Mark stated casually sipping his root beer. "You just assumed."

"This is embarrassing Mia." Cassie said. She was almost out of cards and the object was to pick up the whole pile.

"I think we need to play consequences." Ryan said grinning.

"Ah, yes…"

"Consequences?" Mia and Cassie echoed one another.

"Yes, the first one out has to take a dare. If they accomplish the dare, then they may receive cards to get back in the game."

"And the second one out?" Mia asked doing a quick scan of her cards.

"Same."

"Shit…." Cassandra looked to Mia who only shrugged. "So you won't play slap ins?"

"Nope, consequences or nothing."

"Alright, we'll play. But nothing that'll get us kicked off the trip, ok?" Mia pleaded.

"Oh, agreed." Mark said. "I'd hate to lose our best females to something stupid."

Cassie got two slaps in and ended up bulking her deck slightly. Mia ran out first.

"Oh, we have a winner!" Matt smiled. "What are we gonna do to her boys…and girl."

"I have an idea…but it would take two…" Matt said devilishly.

"How many cards are left, Cassie?" Mark asked.

"Eight." Cassie lied, she actually only had five.

"Someone has to go back to kindergarten and learn to count. She's only got five boys." Ryan said.

"Let's get her then." Matt said quickly. "Then we'll let them back in."

Cassie was out a turn and a half later. She slowly backed away.

"What do we have to do?"  
"Conference!"

"I'm scared." Mia said as the boys scrambled to the windows of the terminal and conferred. "They're probably going to make us give them lap dances or something."

"No…they wouldn't."

"Ok." Mark said coming back to them. "We want you to go out and sing 'Hard Knock Life'."

"OK." Mia stood up and made to sing.

"No, not here….out there." Mark said pointing at the main terminal rotunda. "Where everyone can see and hear you."

"You guys suck!" Cassie said turning quickly. "You can't be serious?"

"We are. Either you go sing out there, or you don't get to play anymore."

"Oh, you're horrible."

Cassie and Mia walked to the central hub of the terminal where about five different terminals intersected into one big open space.

"Cassie and Mia are gonna sing!" Someone shouted and the entire group of students moved to where they could see Cassandra and Mia.

"Cass, are we really gonna do this?"

"Yeah, I want back in! Besides, they're using my cards!" Cassandra turned and smiled at the group of students. "Besides, this is easy."

Cassie and Mia started singing and actually got really into the whole thing, dancing and spinning around, just as they had on stage. They alternated who sang the verses of Annie.

It's the hard-knock life for us!  
It's the hard-knock life for us!

'Steada treated,

We get tricked!

'Steada kisses,

We get kicked!

It's the hard-knock life!  
Got no folks to speak of, so,  
It's the hard-knock row we how!

Cotton blankets,

'Steada of wool!

Empty Bellies

'Steada of full!

It's the hard-knock life! ….

By the end of their number, the girls had gathered quite a crowd and several applauded.

The group of students laughed as Cassie and Mia bowed low to the crowd and went merrily back to the game at hand.

"Take that!" Mia said sitting down. "You owe us cards." The boys took ten cards from their stacks and passed five a piece to Cassie and Mia.

Ryan ran out of cards shortly after and was dared to walk up to an elderly woman sitting at the next terminal and serenade her with "all I ask of you"

"Oh no way."

"Come on, we sang "Hard-Knock Life""

"Yeah, but that wasn't serenading someone in particular."

"Well, you either do it, or you don't get any cards." Mia said fanning a substantial stack. Ryan tried to beg Cassie to get him out of it, but she wouldn't.

"Well then, I guess I have no choice." Ryan got up and went to where the old woman sat reading a magazine. He said something briefly to her before he sang. His voice cracking as he tried not to laugh. He only made it through two verses before he broke into uncontrollable laughter. The woman smiled and laughed at him as he knelt down and begged her forgiveness for screwing the song up.

He ran back over to where the students sat and the ERS crew shook their heads.

"Failure….Ryan, man…what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about how it would be so much more romantic on a Gazebo with snow on the ground." He said as he sat back down, a pointed stare shot in Cassie's direction. She blushed and Mia tried not to snort root beer out her nose.

In the end Mark ended up winning as several people refused to do the consequences issued them.

Mr. and Mrs. Giles had come back part way through their game and had brought a cart full of blankets with them. If the flight was going to be delayed as long as they said it was, they would need them.

Mary and Josephine and Sara were curled together under a set of blankets as were several other people. The air in the airport was on full blast and lying on the floor was a cold affair. Mr. and Mrs. Giles were sitting in the far corner of the terminal with Mr. Villefort.

Ryan grabbed blankets for he and Cassie and set up a spot in an alcove off the side of the terminal where they could sleep and not be bothered by others. They curled up on the floor and Ryan threw the blanket over the two of them.

"I can't wait to get you to Paris." Ryan whispered.

"Why's that?"

"Because, I want to get you behind a closed hotel room door." He nuzzled her neck gently and heard her laugh.

"You're such a horn dog, Ryan." Cassie rolled over to face him and placed her head against his chest. "Just go to sleep, and keep your hands to yourself." Ryan obliged and they slept curled together for a few hours, unaware of anyone staring at them.

They're flight finally made ready to board. It had been impossible to fit 40 students on a standby flight. Ryan ran around and found someone who had a seat beside Cassie's and traded them for it. Ryan and Cassie ended up in the back of the plane with virtually no one around them. They put the arm on the chair between them up and slept most of the flight cuddling together, Ryan's fingertips tracing circles on Cassie's knee.

"Bonjour, bienvenue aux dames de Paris et messieurs!" A man smiled as they exited the plane and made their way to the taxi's that would carry them to the hotel. "You must be ze group from America, no?"

"Yes…that's us."

"Well, you all must be very weary from your journey. We'll get you to the dormitories quickly."

"But aren't we…." Mrs. Giles was interrupted before she could finish.

"Ah, oui -- naturellement... comme c'est idiot à moi!" The man said quickly. "You will be staying at the Hotel for the first few nights and then will be moved to the dormitories at the Opera house for the performance. You knew this, correct?"

"_Oui, nous avions été juste dits que nous serions dans un hôtel ces jours premiers. Vous nous avez confondus monsieur." _Everyone stared as Mr. Villefort conversed in excellent French with the gentleman. The cabs took the students to the large hotel and they eagerly climbed the stairs to their rooms. Cassie looked around her room in awe. It was huge. A large canopy bed took up a big portion of the room. Mia came in close behind and stared as blankly as Cassie was.

"Whoa…."

"Votre pièce est-elle satisfaisante, dames?" A maid asked from the hall.

"Oh yeah…it's fine." Mia answered in broken French. "Cassie...this is our room…."

"wow…" Cassie flopped her bag down and launched herself onto the big feather bed. "Oh, Mia…it's so soft!"

"Move!" Mia was airborne as Cassie rolled sideways to avoid her friend. They erupted into a fit of giggles. "This is so cool, Cass." They unpacked some of their things and unfolded some of their shirts to decrease wrinkles.

Mia and Cassie were laying on the bed that night eating some of the junk food that Mia had brought along.

"So are you and Ryan going to do it?" Cassie nearly spit the cheese puff she was eating out.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Cass, you can't tell me you haven't thought of it?" Mia said, an impish grin settling onto her face. "Going to the champs ellise, the eiffel tower…..Notre Dame….and then coming back here and fucking like a couple of Rabbits."

"Amelia Cartwright! Where did you learn such vile language?" Cassie's face was bright red.

"Well, some I learned from you, Miss Virgin Ears." Mia made a face and Cassie laughed. "Come on, have you thought about having sex with Ryan or not?"

"Well…." Cassie thought that if the room had been dark, her whole body would have glowed.

"You have!"

"Well, come on Mia. For the love of God….." Cassie got up and went to the window of the room and looked out at the Parisian night. "He's handsome, he's nice, he's ambitious. I think…."

"You think what?" Mia asked when Cassie didn't continue.

"I think I love him." Cassie said it so quietly Mia had to strain to hear. Cassie turned and looked at her friend and smiled. "I love him, Mia."

"Wow." Mia held a cheese puff part way to her lips and sighed. "Wow."

"Mia, don't do that."

"Hmm? Don't do what?" Mia said, her eyes partially glazed over as if she weren't in the hotel room.

"Don't get that moony eyed look. For heaven's sake you look possessed, besides….you're drooling and I don't want cheese puff ooze on my bed."

"Sorry." Mia popped the cheese puff into her mouth and grinned viciously. "I was thinking….You know, those kids would be blessed with all the looks in the world….." Cassie threw a pillow at her friend and laughed as Mia tumbled off the edge of the bed. "I'm just saying what everyone will be thinking in a few years!"

"Mia, I don't even know if he feels the same way for me. I'm not going to plan anything."

"When did you go blind?" Mia asked picking herself up off the floor and putting the snacks away. "Did you ever see the look on his face when you sang? Or when you're near?" Cassie shook her head. "His eyes light up. Those gorgeous eyes….and when you sing—his chest swells with pride….everyone noticed it."

"Mia…"

"You can't deny it, Cass. He's so into you it hurts." Mia climbed into her bed and turned off the light. "He may not have said anything yet, but he's as into you as you're into him."

Cassie stood in the near darkness for quite a few minutes more before she too turned in for the night.

_A/N: I'm not a Language person. I use a translator online and I know it's awful...please tolerate the horrible french in this and some in future chapters._


	13. Date Night

The next day the group went on a tour of Paris. They were confined to a hot bus and could only look out on many of the sites, as the following days would be spent at many of the more famous spots, such as the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Champs Elise.

They were nearing the end of their first week in Paris when the group finally got to see the famous Paris Opera House.

"Oh my God….look at the sculptures..." Angela breathed as they walked towards the building.

"Check out the angel at the top---isn't that where the Phantom does his thing?" Jason asked nudging Matt.

"Are we going to get to go inside?" The group moved on quickly and Ryan and Cassie drifted towards the back of the crowd as they made their way closer to the building.

"So---are you enjoying Paris?" Ryan asked as he slipped his hand into hers.

"Mm-hmm." Cassie said looking up at the great opera house. "So far."

"So far?" Ryan said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you expect it to get better?"

"Well, performing of course." Cassie grinned. She hadn't had a chance to get alone with Ryan since their arrival, and they were all exhausted every day after their touring was done. They followed the group up the stairs of the Opera house, but were stopped short of going in.

"We'll not be going in today, as you'll be spending quite a bit of time here in the next two weeks." Mr. Giles said as he barred the entrance to the students. "We'll instead walk down to a café and have lunch before returning to the hotel. You'll all have some free time there to do whatever you wish." Much of the group cheered as the day was still young and many of the girls wanted to go lay in the hotel courtyard and sun themselves.

Cassie was sitting on the balcony of the hotel room when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Mia said streaking to the door. Ryan came in and went directly to the balcony.

"Hey, you wanna go out with me?" Ryan asked sitting against the wall and staring at Cassie's smile.

"Why, I don't know. I'll have to check my schedule book."

"Oh, your schedule book? Did some French dandy come and ask you out before me?"

"Well, I'm not sure…you see, there have been so many….I'll just have my secretary check my schedule."

"The hell I will!" Mia shouted back from the room. Cassie laughed. Another knock on the door interrupted them. "It's for me!" Mia shouted again.

"Matt is supposed to be coming for her." Cassie said turning on her side to look Ryan in the eye. "She's been getting ready for a hot night on the town."

"I'll bet she is."

"Just a second Mr. Villefort, I'll get her." Mia's voice rang out onto the balcony.

"What does he want?" Ryan asked. Cassie got up and went inside.

"Cassandra, I wanted you to make sure you're going over the scales from 'Think of Me.' I don't want your range falling flat." Cassie felt his eyes roam over her. She was wearing simple sweatpants and a sports tank. Her hair was twisted haphazardly in a clip and her sunglasses were perched on top of her head. Her clothes left nothing to the imagination as to her curves.

"Mr. Villefort, Mia and I have been going over them every night before we go to bed, and every morning after we wake up. I assure you, I'm more than prepared." Cassandra said leaning against the door frame.

"Well, if you ever have any questions or problems, please come to me. There is a piano set up in the conference room downstairs and I'd feel much better if we put it to use."

"Mr. Villefort, I will come and fetch you at the slightest hint of a falter." Mr. Villefort nodded, sending a bit of his dark hair falling into his face and went down the hall. Cassie closed the door and shivered. Mr. Villefort gave off a strange vibe ever since they'd arrived in Paris. He seemed to lurk and knew far too many side streets than made even Mr. Giles comfortable.

"Come on Cassie. I want to take you out tonight." Ryan said coming back into the room and wrapping his arms around her. "Dress for a nice dinner and for walking." He kissed her forehead before he left.

"Someone's got a date." Mia said in a sing-songy voice.

"Yes. It would seem I do." Cassie said smiling. She dashed to the bathroom and showered and washed her long blonde hair. Mia helped comb it out and put it up into two silver barrettes on the side of her head. Cassie put on a nice green party dress that accented her slender waist but was modest in length, coming down to her knees in a nice A-Line skirt. Cassie did her make up and then gazed at herself in the mirror. Happy that she was presentable, she left to meet Ryan in the lobby.

"Wow." Ryan said when he saw Cassie come down the stairs. "You look amazing."

"So do you." Ryan was wearing a gray suit with a yellow shirt and a matching tie. His hair was spiked up and he looked taller in the suit than he did in his school clothes or the casual wear she had grown accustomed to seeing him in.

"I mean, you looked good in those St. Isabel's uniforms, but you are down right sexy tonight." He kissed her cheek gently and then led her outside into the setting sun and the streets of Paris. They walked for some time, finally picking up a cab a few streets over. It dropped them off at a restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. Ryan went up to the maitre de and they were seated on the second floor on a balcony that looked out onto the tower and the rest of the Parisian sky line.

"Mademoiselle." Ryan said pulling out the chair for Cassie.

"Thank you." Cassie laughed as Ryan sat down beside her so they could both look out on the view before them. "Ryan, this is amazing. How did you find this place?"

"The internet is a wonderful tool."

"Sir?" The Maitre de handed Ryan a wine list and Ryan said a few words in French before the man bustled away.

"Ryan?"

"Don't say anything. Just let me take care of it, won't you?" Ryan grasped Cassie's hand and looked deep into her eyes.

"Alright." Cassie smiled. "But if we get in trouble..."

"Pah!" Ryan said. "There won't be any trouble. It's all taken care of." He kissed her briefly before the sommelier came with a bottle of wine and uncorked it. Ryan sniffed the cork and nodded to the man before accepting the glass of pinkish colored wine. He tasted it and nodded and the man poured a glass for Cassie and then filled Ryan's.

"It's sweet." Cassie said. She liked fruity blushes and this was just up her alley.

"You like it?"

"Very much." Ryan and Cassie talked about the coming weeks when they'd be staying at the Opera house and what they planned on doing after they returned to America.

"So you're going to go to school to sing?" Cassie nodded as she took a bite of her salad.

"Yes, I got a scholarship letter a few months ago. I'll be going to school in New York….learning at the conservatory." She looked off into the distance as lights twinkled on.

"Is that what you want?"

"Hmm?" Cassie brought her gaze back to Ryan. "What's that?"

"Is that what you want? To sing at the conservatory? To sing in great operas or on Broadway?"

"I don't know." Cassie said seriously. "When I was a little girl, I used to want to dance….but I never learned how. Then I thought about becoming a lawyer or a doctor." Cassie laughed. "But I'm not smart enough or dedicated enough to that sort of education. I don't think I'm really suited to anything else."

"But is that what you want?" Ryan clasped Cassie's hand in his and brought her gaze back to his. "Do you want to sing for the rest of your life?"

"I'm not sure." Cassie shook her head, her hair catching some of the light of the candles on the surrounding tables. "I mean, it would certainly be interesting." Ryan smiled. "And what are you going to do, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

"I'll be going to school….NYU." Ryan turned his gaze into the distance as well. "Not that it's my choice….."

"Not your choice?"

"Yes….you see, my father is an NYU grad….and my mother….and their parents…."

"Oh…" Cassie sipped more wine. "So it's tradition?"

"Yes." Ryan sighed heavily. "I'd love to break tradition and go travel the world for a few years before going to college. But my father will never hear of it."

"Why not?"

"He's a doctor. He did his undergrad and part of his pre-med at NYU. He was doing residency by the time he was 24. One of the youngest people to get his degree and his license ever. He doesn't believe in screwing around….doesn't even like the idea of my singing and performing."

"Your mother though?"

"She's just country club arm candy." Ryan said bitterly. Cassie straightened up at Ryan's comment. "What? It's very true. She does all the insipid Political conventions, library fundraisers, country club banquets." He waved his hand, "She's pretty to look at, but has nothing real to offer the world. Really just went to school to get her MRS. Degree."

"Ryan…."

"Sorry….I shouldn't talk like that."

"I guess it's just that I've never heard you talk about your family….I guess I know why now."

"Well, neither of us talk of our families….it doesn't seem to be a pleasant subject for either of us. Let's forget about that for now though." Ryan said as he saw Cassie's eyes cloud over.

Ryan refilled their glasses and raised his in a toast.

"To Hell with our futures! Let's live in the now and worry about what tomorrow brings when it comes, eh?"

"To tomorrow!"

Their meal was exquisite. Cassie marveled at the flavors and colors and presentations. She and Ryan were still talking when the maitre de came forward and whispered to Ryan. "Ah, yes…." Ryan nodded and the man bustled away. "Close your eyes, Cass…there's another surprise."

"Another one?" Cassie looked out onto the twilight sky. "Ryan—"

"Close your eyes, or you'll ruin it!" Cassie giggled and closed her eyes. She heard a plate set down on the table and heard Ryan thank the waiter. "Here, open your mouth…" Cassie did as she was asked and tasted the most heavenly chocolate she'd ever had in her life. The light mousse like air on her tongue. She laughed and opened her eyes.

"Straight after my own heart!" Cassie breathed as she looked at Ryan. She looked down at the plate and saw the bowl of mousse surrounded by strawberries and slices of angel food cake. Ryan took up a strawberry and fed that to her next, the fruit tangy after the sweet fluffy mousse.

Cassie also fed Ryan a strawberry. When they were finished, Ryan paid the bill and the two of them left the restaurant. Between the two of them, they'd drained a bottle of wine and had a healthy bit of food with it. They were laughing and giggling as they strolled to the park beneath the Eiffel tower to find a cab.

"Ryan, that was fantastic. I'm positively STUFFED!" Cassie laughed as Ryan held her at arms reach and then pulled her close. "I'll never fit into that corset!"

"Oh, you didn't eat that much…." Ryan laughed. "Besides, you'll work it off…." He spun her slowly and danced with her beneath a street light, the two continuing to laugh. "You aren't ready to go back, are you?" Ryan asked as he put his head on her shoulder and breathed into her neck. Cassie leaned back against his chest and smiled back at him.

"No….why?"

"Because I have more planned."

"Ryan!" A cab finally pulled up and they got in and were taken to a place where horse drawn hacks picked people up and took them on tours through old Paris and through a river front park. Ryan and Cassie climbed into one of the carriages and were taken on a lovely tour of the old buildings of Paris. As they neared the river, the night began to grow slightly chill, a soft mist creeping over the banks of the Seine. Cassie snuggled in closer to Ryan and was surprised when the coach stopped in the park. "What's going on?" Cassie asked. Ryan helped her out of the carriage and paid the driver who handed Ryan a basket and a blanket. He turned to Cassie as the carriage rattled away and pulled a silk scarf from his pocket. "What on earth is that?"

"The better to surprise you with, my dear?" Ryan stood behind Cassie and tied the scarf around her eyes. He took her hand and led her through the grass and up a slight rise. "Watch your step." Ryan would say as they crossed over roots and bumps in the ground. They stopped and Cassie reached for the blindfold but had her hand slapped away lightly. "nuh-uh-uh. Not yet." Cassie heard the blanket being laid out and something else. She stood grasping her arms to herself in anticipation of what Ryan was planning and a little for the chill. "OK…." Ryan spun Cassie around a few times as if they were preparing to play pin the tail on the donkey. Then he removed the blindfold. "Open your eyes…now." Cassie opened her eyes and gasped as she looked out onto the River Seine, and could see Notre Dame Cathedral lit with outdoor lights, the windows within glowing with a myriad of color with the lights inside. She could see the older buildings of the Paris waterfront, their windows lit in the night. A barge floated slowly and quietly up the river, people on board laughing merrily. In the distance, the Eiffel tower reached up into the night sky.

"Oh---it's beautiful." Ryan helped Cassie sit and gallantly put his coat over her shoulders before he lounged on the blanket in front of her.

"So you like it?"

"Ryan, of course I do." Cassie put her arms through the sleeves of Ryan's coat and watched as he pulled out another bottle of wine and two glasses from the basket along with a lighter for the candle that was sitting on the blanket. Ryan lit the candle and poured wine for Cassie and himself. The soft glow of the light cast eerie shadows across their faces and danced on the bark of the tree they were sitting under.

"How on earth did you plan all this?"

"I told you, the internet is a wonderful tool."

"But when?"

"Right after we found out we'd be coming here. I got online and asked some questions and talked to some women…"

"Women?"

"Of course….what a girl wants is much different than what a guy thinks is romantic."

"And if you were going to plan this without the help from the female population?"

"I probably would have brought you to the Seine and rowed you up it and then flipped the boat, gallantly rescuing you from a horrible watery grave."

"You twit." Cassie said slapping him lightly. "You're incorrigible."

"Of course I am…." Ryan sat up and kissed her lightly on the cheek before settling his head in her lap. Cassie continued to gaze out on the barge as it plied its way up the Seine. The mist pouring over the banks of the river gave everything an otherworldly glow. Suddenly Cassie realized Ryan was humming. She looked down at him while he continued to stare out at the distant buildings, absently humming a tune. It took her a few minutes to realize it was 'Music of the Night'. She loved the song, and Ryan's gentle humming made it enchanting. Cassie poured herself another glass of wine while Ryan hummed….they never had talked about their families. Their conversation from dinner slowly came back to her. Ryan had disclosed far more about his family than she had about hers.

"My mother….died when I was a little girl…barely five." Cassie suddenly said. Ryan stopped humming and looked up into her face. "It was sudden. An illness brought on when she was pregnant with a brother or sister. She and the baby both died." Ryan sat up and looked into her clouded eyes. "My father was an important and influential businessman with his firm. He just couldn't take the time to raise me on his own when he was constantly having to go overseas. He left me with my grandparents until I turned twelve. He'd come home for Christmas or for a month during the summer. Back then he used to take me places."

"Like where?"

"London when I was ten, Germany when I was eight." Cassandra smiled. "We'd tour and go different places in America too." Suddenly her smile faded. "Then Dad sent me to St. Isabel's. My Grandparents were too old to care for me…they died about six months apart from each other two years ago." She sighed. "Dad stays overseas almost year round anymore. When he does come home it's only for a little while, and he doesn't take me traveling anymore." Ryan looked away. "He didn't even really care when I told him I was going to be coming to Paris."

"What?"

"Remember that day when we found out that we won?" Ryan nodded slowly. None of them would ever forget that day. "I went to a payphone and called Dad. He didn't remember me telling him I was acting in the play, nor did he realize what it meant to me….He's so distant now."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to be."

"I know…but you're really lucky to have a family involved in your life. I've never been truly connected to anyone."

"I guess I never thought of it like that before." Ryan said as he maneuvered his way where he could pull Cassandra into him, feeling that she needed to be protected or loved. "I always just thought of it as them interfering with the way I want to live my life." Ryan pulled the pocket square from the coat pocket and handed it to Cassie who dabbed at her eyes and smiled at him.

"Now we know about each others' families…."

"Is that what that was about?"

"Well, a little I guess." Cassie laughed. "And a little the wine."


	14. Morning After

Ryan wrapped his arm around Cassie's waist and pulled her higher and closer to him. He tilted her chin up to him and kissed her slowly, letting the passion flow between them. She melted into his arms as his tongue danced slowly across her lip and over her tongue. She loved kissing Ryan…..she wasn't sure why, but it felt so right. Ryan broke the kiss and caressed her face.

"You are the most intoxicating creature I've ever met…." He said as he pushed her hair behind her ear. "I love you Cass…" His voice was so soft it took all Cassie had in her to hear it.

"Ryan…" Cassie didn't get to finish what she wanted to say for Ryan pressed his lips to hers again, his fingers entwined in her long blonde hair holding her to him. When they separated she finally managed to whisper "I love you too." She looked up at him to see his eyes dancing in the thin candle light. Cassie shivered though she wasn't sure if it was from the damp river air or the revelation she'd just uttered. She reached up and covered Ryan's hand with her own.

"Your hands are freezing." He whispered as her fingertips grazed the back of his hand. He released her hair and grasped her hand in his drawing it to his mouth where he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. He brought it down and grasped her other hand and placed them in his coat pockets, in an effort to warm them with the help of his own. Cassie leaned back into his chest and sighed as they stared out onto the beautiful Parisian view before them. They'd lost track of time when Cassie shivered involuntarily.

"We should probably head back…." Ryan whispered to Cassie, his breath hot on her ear. "You're shivering."

"No I'm not." Cassie said, her voice heavy and a little drowsy. She felt Ryan move behind her and felt his chest heave as he laughed at her.

"You're practically asleep!"

"No I'm not…" Cassie shivered again. The fog had crept up around them and made the air extremely chill.

Ryan and Cassie walked back to the front of the park where other couples, equally armed with baskets and blankets were waiting for the carriages to take them back from whence they came. Ryan helped Cassie climb in and they rode back in relative silence, only broken by their occasional soft kisses. When the carriage stopped, Ryan and Cassie got out and started to walk the two or three blocks back to their hotel.

"This night was absolutely spectacular, Ryan." Cassie said as they turned a corner and entered a narrow alley that Villefort had shown them. The alley led right up to the side entrance of their hotel. Cassie stopped and turned to face Ryan. He was such a spectacular person, planning all this out for the two of them, spending lord only knew how much for it.

Cassie grasped the tie as it hung haphazardly from his neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him. She threw her other arm over his shoulder as his right hand went around her waist. His fingers were massaging the back of her neck gently again as he pressed her closer to the wall of the alley and intensified the kiss they were sharing.

Cassie thought she was going to pass out her knees were so weak and she found it hard to draw a full breath. While one hand was at the back of her head keeping her in the lip-lock she'd initiated, Ryan's other hand was slowly working it's way to the small of her back where he could raise her higher and deeper into the kiss. She moaned as the passion increased…the night couldn't get any better.

Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist as she threw both her arms over his shoulders and spun her around, forcing a laugh from her. She buried her head against his neck and laughed as he spun her again. She was glad he had a hold around her waist for she was sure she'd collapse if she were to try to stand on her own.

Suddenly a sound alerted them that there was someone else in the alley.

It sounded like a trashcan getting knocked over. Cassie and Ryan turned to the sound but couldn't see much in the inky blackness. Cassie's breaths were coming rapidly both because of what she and Ryan had been up to and because of the fright she'd just received. The fear slowly ebbed away when two cats rushed past their feet.

"Let's go inside…." Ryan and Cassie ran down the alley and into the hotel, up the stairs and into the hall where their rooms were. Ryan walked down the hall and dropped Cassie off at her room. "I'm glad I planned tonight the way I did. I had a lot of fun tonight Cass."

"I did too…" Cassie said as she leaned against the door frame. "It was incredible…thank you so much." She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before she stepped farther into her room. She took only a few steps in and noticed two envelopes on the floor of her room. One was definitely from Mia, as it was written in a blue marker in her funky writing. The other was blank. Cassie tore into the envelope and quickly scanned the letter over. She caught the door with her foot before it swung shut and vaulted into the corridor where Ryan was only halfway to his room. "Psssst!"

Ryan turned to see Cassie waving him back to her room.

"What's up?" He said when he got back and saw the intense look on her face.

"Read this…" Ryan took the paper from Cassie and read it over.

_Cassie:_

_I'm spending the night with Matt. If you can help it, don't let Ryan come down here. Matt brought him some stuff so he can go to bed. It's in the bathroom. He can sleep in my bed tonight---I won't be needing it._

_Mia_

_P.S.—Villefort stopped by tonight after you left….he's weirding me out._

"Well…." Ryan said trying not to smile. "I guess that could have been dangerous if I'd have gone down there…eh?"

"Very." Cassie closed the door as Ryan entered their room and took in the relative state of chaos. "I know it's a mess, but we have no rules or room inspections so…."

"Cass, it's fine." Cassie went to the bathroom and saw that Matt had indeed brought Ryan some clothes for the night.

"You can change in here—I'll change out here." Cassie smiled sheepishly as Ryan went into the bathroom to change out of his dress clothes. Cassie was just pulling her t-shirt over her head as she heard the door open behind her.

"Are you decent?" Ryan's voice asked.

"Decent enough." Cassie turned to find him smiling at her. She was wearing a gray t-shirt and a pair of red and green plaid boxers. She turned as she was pulling the clips from her hair. She brushed past Ryan as he dropped his dress clothes into a chair. She stood in the doorway of the bathroom brushing her hair as he folded his shirt and pants and laid his tie over them. When he turned she was braiding her hair over her shoulder. She tossed the brush onto the counter and wound an elastic band over the end of the braid. He stared at her as she flopped onto the bed and grabbed at the letter she'd thrown at the foot of it. She tore into it and scanned over the pages, her face suddenly becoming downcast.

"What's up?" Ryan asked as he came closer.

"Villefort." Cassie sighed as she folded the letter back up. "He just wanted to check up on me…and my singing. He's just terrified that I'm going to slack off now when we've come so far."

"Why would he think that?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just trying to figure it out…" Ryan sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she tossed the letter back on her bedside table and stared at it.

"Don't think about it. You're not slacking off….no less than the rest of us anyway." Cassie rolled over and smiled, though it seemed strained. Ryan got up and turned the overhead lights off, then headed back to where Cassie was staring up at the ceiling. "Alright, time for bed." Ryan said as he pulled the covers on her bed down and pulled them up over her. He tucked them up under her chin and smiled down at her. "Sweet dreams." He made to turn off her light and go to Mia's bed but she stopped him.

"Ryan…." He turned back and could only just barely make her out in the dim lights from the street outside. "You---I mean,---Would you stay here?"

"I'll be here, don't worry…."

"No, I mean, in bed….with me." Ryan grinned slightly and moved back to Cassie's bed where he crawled in beside her.

"You know, I could get used to this…." Ryan said as Cassie lay in the crook of his arm, her head pillowed against his chest.

"I hope you do."

The two of them fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning Ryan awoke to see the sun just filtering down through the windows of the hotel. At first he looked around and wondered who had trashed his room, then he looked down and saw Cassandra curled up against him. He smiled.

"Well, that explains that wonderful warm feeling against my chest." He stroked a strand of hair off her face and watched as she rolled onto her back. "Hmmm…." He leaned up over her and placed a slow kiss on her lips. When he looked down at her again she was looking at him.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know…doesn't it make sense to want to wake up and kiss the beautiful woman whose bed you're sharing?"

"I don't know…does it make sense to want to wake up and kiss some beautiful woman whose bed you happen to be sharing? I've never been in that situation before." Ryan laughed.

"I should hope you've never been in that situation." He laughed as he kissed her again. "You're such an incredible woman….what did I do to deserve you."

"I don't know…but I'm sure we'll think of something." Cassie said pulling him into a deep kiss.

Cassie and Ryan finally got out of bed a few hours later when Mia came in.

"Shit!" Cassie and Ryan sat up quickly, Cassie trying to straighten her shirt, where Ryan had pulled it up. Mia had turned to the wall when she'd come in and seen the two of them involved in a heavy petting session. "I figured you two would have gotten that out of your system last night!"

"What are you doing back here?" Cassie asked, a little annoyed at Mia's intrusion.

"Well, this is my room…and it is morning…." She crossed over to her bed and grabbed up some clothes to wear for the day as she was still wearing her Sponge-bob Square-pants pajamas. "I mean, I only said I wouldn't be needing my bed last NIGHT. It's definitely not last night anymore." Ryan just shook his head. "By the way, Villefort and Giles are filing everyone down into the conference room to do some rehearsals….we've got to be packed by tonight and ready to leave for the Opera House tomorrow morning…they're at least giving us all day to get ready."

"Well, I guess that's my cue to go prepare for today." Ryan said shrugging at Cassie. "Villefort must have gotten to Giles last night."

"I guess." Cassie said. Ryan kissed her goodbye and went back to his room, his dress clothes under his arm. "Mia! I hate you so much right now!" Cassie said flinging a pillow at Mia.

"Gah!" Mia said as the pillow hit her in the chest. "It's not my fault! You two are like little spider monkeys…you're all over each other."

"Well we weren't!" Cassie got out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt from her suitcase. "I mean, we didn't do anything until this morning!"

"Oh, so you got a quickie? That's no good…"

"Amelia Jane Cartwright!" Cassie turned quickly, the look she shot her friend could have stopped a bull. "I'm not the one who left a note for my room mate saying I wouldn't be needing my bed last night!" Mia turned towards Cassie a smug grin on her face as if trying to remember something.

"You're right….that was me!" She said, an irresistible grin passing over her face as Cassie threw another pillow at her. "HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, Cassie….don't be mad at me."

"I won't be if you tell me what the hell happened last night!" Cassie smiled broadly as Mia patted the edge of her bed. The two girls launched themselves onto the bed and giggled.

"OK, so here's all the sordid details….

Matt and I left shortly after you and Ryan. We ended up going to this Cabaret last night and then for a really long walk down along the river. It was so funny we were singing and laughing and having a great time. Then we ended up walking back down this narrow little street about two blocks from here and we passed by this alleyway. Well, right across the street there was this couple and I mean OH MY GOD! I didn't know two people could get more connected! I mean, her leg was up over his hip and she was pushed up against the door of this house. So Matt and I dodge into the alley because it was just too comical a moment to pass up. Well, the funny thing was, this couple wasn't the only one practically having sex on this street….there was another group farther up the street and we could hear the girl laughing and giggling and then we heard her moan really loud. But we couldn't see the second couple, just the first one. Well, the next thing you know the scene across the street is getting like REALLY HOT and Matt and I just can't help but stare."

"Mia! You didn't!"

"Oh yeah we did….I mean, anyone willing to do that in public is asking for an audience….we weren't the only ones watching though, there was another couple that stopped and was just watching! It was nuts. I mean, it was like they had some sort of animalistic, primal power over us."

"Oh my God…"

"Yeah, so the guy finally manages to extricate himself from the girl long enough to get inside."

"They weren't having sex on the doorstep, were they?"

"No, but they were damn close….I think his hand was definitely where it didn't exactly belong."

"OH MY GOD! AND YOU WATCHED?"

"Can I finish?" Cassie nodded. "Well, anyway, Matt and I made a run for it and made it back here, but oh my god by that point we were so horny we could hardly stop ourselves. So we went back and I remembered that you and Ryan were probably going to be coming back soon so I quick wrote you a note and put it on the floor and then got some stuff for bed while Matt collected some things for Ryan to wear. That's when Villefort came to the door….while I was getting ready. He asked if you were back yet and then left….I guess he figured I was getting ready to go to bed because he slipped the letter under the door before I went back to Matt's room."

"Oh…." Cassie looked over at the letter on her bedside table. Mia got up off the bed and made for the bathroom. "Hey, wait…so what happened after you went back to Matt's room?"

"Oh, we had hot passionate monkey sex until the sun came up." Mia responded as she turned the corner.

"WHAT?" Mia laughed. Cassandra's mouth hung open and her eyes were wide with the casual ease with which Mia had just said the last words. "Mia! What the hell has gotten into you?" She leaned backwards and fell off the side of the bed.

"Dude, chill out! We did NOT have hot passionate monkey sex." Mia said laughing harder as Cassie picked herself up off the floor. "At least not until AFTER the sun came up." Cassie fell back to the ground. "I'm kidding Dorkbag!" Mia sat on the floor next to a very shocked Cassie. "Remember how the last time….at the lake house…I said we almost went to third?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we almost went home."

"You're joking again, right?"

"Nope….I realized that what we were doing could have serious repercussions and called it off….so we went to third instead."

"Mia—" Cassie breathed.

"Well, that's only the nineteenth time you've said my name this morning. Wanna try for a record?"

"Well?" It was Mia's turn to fall backwards.

"Cassie…I've never felt anything like that before in my whole entire life."

"I should hope not you horn dog….you're a virgin."

"Oh Cassie…" Mia sat back up and looked her friend in the eye. "It was absolutely incredible…I may go back tonight! Because if THAT was that good…imagine what making love is like!" Cassie pushed Mia back down and got up to finish getting ready for the day as Mia lay on the floor cackling.

Cassie went down to breakfast and found Mark sitting in a far corner drinking hot tea.

"Good morning Mark, how's it going?"

"Fine Cassie…yourself?"

"Great." Cassie had left Mia in the room singing some perverted song in the shower. She was still trying to eradicate the dirty pictures running rampant through her brain. Ordinarily she wouldn't have had a problem with everything, but she was having problems with the pictures and the early hour of the morning with which they came. "Have you talked to Villefort and Giles this morning yet?"

"No, not yet…I was going to go right after breakfast." Cassie stirred some sugar into her coffee and looked out the window. "Would you care to join me?"

"Sure…that would be great." Cassie only ate a little bit. She was still full from the dinner the evening before. She and Mark left for the conference room and entered to find Villefort and Giles yelling at one another.

"—but they're children Rick! You can't expect them to sing like Broadway professionals! Nor can you expect them to have the discipline!"

"I can and they must if they are not to embarrass themselves here! In two weeks time they perform on the stage of the Paris Opera House and if they screw up, if even one voice is out of tune someone here will know it and we'll be laughed out of Paris before the beginning of the Second Act!"

"Ahem…" Mark cleared his throat slightly and both men turned towards them.

"Oh, Cassie, Mark….we didn't realize you were here." Mr. Giles said standing and crossing to the door behind them. "Mr. Villefort and I were just discussing some things."

"We can come back later." Cassie heard Mark say from beside her. "We were just eating breakfast together and figured we'd come down." Cassie was staring at Villefort who was sitting at the large conference table glaring at her, his emerald eyes seemed to glow gold with fire and something she couldn't quite get a read on. The sleeves on his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows and she could see his forearms flexing as he flipped a pen in his fingers.

"No, that won't be necessary." Mr. Giles said. "Since the two of you are here together, we might as well have you sing—"

"The Phantom of the Opera." Villefort interrupted. "The title song…." Mr. Giles went to the piano and sat down. He pounded out the first few chords and Cassandra sang, just as she had the day she had first auditioned for the role of Christine. Her voice had grown stronger, more powerful and sweeter with the evening practices she and Villefort had been conducting and now, when she hit the difficult run at the end, she hit the final note without a second thought. She watched through out the piece as he again scribbled something on the page, only looking up during the run to engulf her in his emerald eyes.

"Very well done, Cassandra. Very well done indeed." Mr. Giles said wiping his brow.

"Yes…very well done, Cassandra." Mr. Villefort said quietly. "Watch your breathing though." Cassie frowned. It seemed she'd never be good enough for Rick Villefort….he'd always find something to fault.

"Mark, you're voice seems a little weak. Is anything wrong?"

"No sir. I think it's just an atmosphere thing…this hotel isn't exactly conducive to a good performance."

"Well, as long as you're sure everything is OK….you two may leave. You know what to work on. Be ready to depart for the Opera house by nine o'clock tomorrow. We move in to the dormitories there before noon and we've got to try to get all the scenery set up before our first rehearsal."

"Yes sir." Cassie and Mark echoed before they left the room.

"Well done Cassandra. See you tomorrow."

"Later, Mark." Cassie went back to her room and out onto her balcony. She didn't exactly feel like packing and leaving the opulent hotel this instant. Mia was gone…probably gone to eat breakfast. Cassie picked up her the book she'd been reading and read into the afternoon.


	15. Moving Day

"Cassie?" Cassie opened her eyes and realized she'd fallen asleep outside. "Cassie, are you in there?" Cassie could hear Ryan shouting on the other side of the door. She quickly got up and ran to answer it. "There you are. Were you asleep?"

"Yeah, I must have dozed off outside." She said re-doing her pony tail. "What's up?"

"Mia and Matt are downstairs…Mia said she hadn't seen you since this morning." He blushed slightly at the memory of being in a rather compromising position when Mia had come in.

"Yeah…."

"Well, there's a group going down to find a McDonald's or something. We're all just hungry and want to get something to eat. You wanna come?"

"Sure, let me grab my purse and change into something a little better." She said looking down at her worn and rumpled sweatshirt. She grabbed a long sleeved shirt and stripped out of her sweatshirt, her back to Ryan. She combed out her hair quickly and deciding that she'd never get it to do what she wanted it to, she pulled the tail through the back of a ball cap. It looked stupid with the fairly dressy top though so she scrounged up a different, cleaner sweatshirt. Ryan laughed as she pulled the hoodie over her head.

"Let's go, sexy."

"Go to hell…you don't have to deal with this much hair!" Cassie said as she locked the door. She hit him playfully and raced him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom they found that half the students were downstairs. Cassie jumped on Ryan's back as he passed by her.

"Let's go!" Ryan shouted out as he rushed past the group. Everyone laughed.

Dinner that evening was a jovial affair. It consisted of some people asking the waiter at the diner they found where exactly French Fries were invented and who the hero of the fast food industry was.

"You mean you don't know who Raoul Jean-Paul Palpeteau was?" Jason asked.

"His birthplace isn't a national landmark?" Andy countered. The waiter glared and departed as the group laughed.

"Raoul Jean-Paul Palpa what?"

"Palpeteau….I don't know…I made it up." Jason said laughing as he stuffed his face.

The group of a dozen or so students ended up singing boisterously on their way back to the hotel. They started with 'Allouette' and moved on to 'Masquerade' since they had most of the parts present. They received applause from the occupants of a carriage as it passed by them. Their spirits were high that night as everyone went to finish packing for the busy day tomorrow.

"Hey, have you seen my green bra?" Mia asked as she continued to shove things into her bag.

"No…but maybe you should ask Matt about that."

"Oh no you didn't…" Mia stood up and looked at Cassie as she sat on the floor laughing.

"I think I did."

"Am I ever going to get any slack for that?" Cassie contemplated the ceiling before finally answering.

"No, I don't think I'll ever let you live it down."

"Damn." Cassie laughed as Mia went to work digging under the bed. Cassie and Mia had to sit on their suitcases to get them closed. They'd bought a few things while in Paris and now their suitcases were a little too full.

"Finally!" Mia and Cassie heaved a sigh as they threw their suitcases into a corner and looked around their clean room. Mia tossed Cassandra a candy bar and the two of them sat slumped against their luggage enjoying the ability to relax. "Well, I guess this is it…tomorrow we'll be up in the dormitories of the Opera house." Mia wadded her candy bar wrapper up and chucked it at the trash basket, bouncing it off the rim.

"Yeah…I wonder if it'll be cold there."

"I doubt it. Even if it is…I think we'll be able to find a way to keep things warmed up." Cassie and Mia laughed knowing what the other was thinking.

The next day everyone assembled in the lobby. Mia and Cassie were some of the first one's there. Matt and Ryan came down and sat with the girls and watched as everyone assembled. Davette came downstairs without any of her suitcases and looked around. Her eyes fell on one of the Harrison boys and she approached quickly.

"You there….I need your help to get my bags downstairs."

"Excuse me?" Jason said.

"Well, I can't tell you from your brother….but I need help getting my luggage downstairs." Davette said.

"I don't work here…go ask one of the bell captains." Jason turned back and continued to talk to Christian.

"What about you?" Davette approached one of the boys who was helping with the set. "You're used to lifting heavy things."

"Hell no…you shouldn't have brought so much crap with you." Davette looked around, pleading for someone to help her. Mia and Cassie looked at one another and got up to approach Davette.

"You can't be serious." Matt said grasping Cassandra's wrist. "She's evil incarnate."

"She needs help…just because she doesn't know how to ask for it politely doesn't mean we have to be blind to her plight." Mia answered. They went up to Davette.

"You know, if you asked people politely you may get more help, Davette." Cassandra said as she came up beside the girl.

"What?"

"Well, you demand instead of ask. If you actually asked instead of gave orders, you just might be able to find some help."

"I'll figure something out."

"No need, Davette…we're gonna help you out." Mia said as she headed for the stairs. "Come on, we're gonna have to load up the buses in a little while." Davette followed them upstairs and unlocked her door. Three large suitcases sat on the floor.

"All this is yours?" Cassie and Mia asked as they began tugging at the suitcases.

"Yes." Davette said. "You can't expect me to wear the same clothes over and over for almost a month, can you?"

"Well, the rest of us are." Mia said as she drug a bag down the hall.

"Thank you." Davette said quietly before the three girls made it to the lobby. "You didn't have to help me."

"It's OK Davette…you'll repay us someday." Mia said flinging the bag across the polished marble floor. "Laterz."

Cassie and Mia returned to their seats beside Ryan and Matt and waited for Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles to tell them how they were to load the charter buses to get to the Opera House.

"Now, this is how this is going to work. There is a back stage office space which Mr. Villefort and I will be sharing. We can be reached there when we're not on stage. During the evenings Mrs. Giles and I will be sharing a dressing room. Each of the leads is being assigned a dressing room. The dancers and those playing minor roles will all be sleeping in the lofts…it's a communal sleeping arrangement so the boys will be on the left side and the girls on the right. Is that clear?" Everyone agreed and they began loading onto the bus. "Now when we first arrive, we're going to have to unload the big truck that has all the set stuff on it. Everyone needs to help get the costumes up to the costume loft, the set pieces on to the stage and the luggage will be dealt with afterwards."

When they arrived at the Opera house they went into a back entrance, not up the grand front staircase. The area was a mass of wood timbers that went up in a confusing maze-work. They were given a quick and thorough tour of the back stage area where their set pieces would need to be brought. A large door was opened and the students swarmed up and into the large eighteen wheeler, pulling set pieces and costume racks out of the back and down into the waiting arms of fellow classmates. It took them very little time to get everything unloaded from the truck and into the Opera House. They even got some things set up on stage, backdrops were piled against the rear part of the stage to wait getting strung up in the catwalks. The entire group assembled on stage. They were sweaty and felt groady.

"Now, messieurs Le Besprit, Escrime, and Du Renaise are going to show you all where you'll be sleeping. First, Mssr. Escrime is going to take the male cast members and stage hands to the loft. The only boys that won't be going with them are Matt, Mark and Ryan." The boys got up from the floor and followed the first man who had dark greasy hair and dark brown eyes. He muttered to himself in French as the boys followed along. "The Ladies will follow Mssr. Du Renaise to their sleeping quarters. Davette, Mia and Cassandra won't be going though." Mia beamed at Cassie. That meant they'd get dressing rooms. Mssr. Le Besprit was the last man. He and Mr. Du REnaise looked much the same. Both had hair that may once have been blonde but was now striped with gray. While Mr. Escrime had brown eyes, Mr. Le Besprit had Blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled. He was the only man that did so.

"Please, follow me Madame's e messieurs. You will kindly follow me. I think you will find your rooms made out to your liking." The man said in heavily accented English. "This way." The first room they came too was rather small. Mr. Le Besprit took a piece of paper from his pocket and looked down the list and then at the number above the door. "This is to be Mr. Andrews's room." The man turned on a light and revealed the room to contain a bed, a dressing table and a full length mirror. It was smaller than most jail cells.

"Alrighty then." Matt said entering the room slowly and looking around. "It needs some color, but I can fix that." Ryan snorted but wouldn't look at Cassandra when she glared at him.

"Next will be Miss Owens's room." They went further down the hall and stopped at a door on the opposite side from Matt's room. He was leaning in the door way of his room smiling as the room was opened for Davette.

"Oh no…this is not right AT ALL!" Davette shrieked. Her room was only slightly larger than Matt's as it contained a closet beside the mirror. "It's so dirty and small!" Davette looked outraged. Mrs. Giles, who had accompanied them looked in the room and sighed.

"Davette, it'll be alright….we'll make it work for you." Davette had tears streaming down her face. Messieur Le Besprit continued down the hall seemingly unaware of Davette's plight.

"Madame Care-twright's room." Though the room was slightly larger than Davette's it was not noticeable. Cassie could hear the wheels spinning in Mia's head.

"Don't you dare." She hissed as she passed by.

"That's a wonderful idea Cassie…I was just thinking it myself…." Mia said smiling. "Oh Davette! I have a proposition for you!" Ryan snorted again but Cassie hit him before it went any farther. They passed through another dark corridor.

"The two doors on the left will be for the Messieurs Alexander and 'Oward." Mr. Le Besprit said unlocking the doors and holding out the keys to Ryan and Mark. "I believe it was suggested that Mr. Alexander take the farther door while Mr. 'Oward take this one. Mrs. Giles and Cassie were lead to a door on the right side of the hall.

"This room is for Miss Davagé. I hope this is acceptable." Mr. Le Besprit opened a door that was painted the same pea green as the others, but was decorated with white, red and pink roses painted on it. When Cassie looked inside she saw that the room was far larger than any of the others they had looked at. Her room contained a sizeable bed, a settee, a dressing table, mirrors and from what she could tell, two closets.

"Oh this can't be right." Cassie said breathlessly as she entered the room for the first time.

"Well, if you are Miss Davagé then there can be no other."

"Holy…."

"SHIT!" The shout from down the hall drew the attention of Mrs. Giles, Mr. Le Besprit and Cassie. Ryan was standing in the hall, his face pale. "Umm…is there somewhere else maybe, this room isn't going to work." He said looking at the three people in the hall. Everyone went and stood behind Ryan who was standing in his doorway looking at his room.

One wall looked charred, and another water damaged. Ceiling Tiles were rotten and one lay at their feet.

"It nearly knocked me out when I opened the door." Ryan said. "I don't think this room is safe." Mr. Le Besprit looked shocked.

"Mon dieu this is not right at all! This was supposed to be fixed. You see, we had a small electrical problem last week. I am terribly sorry about this Messieur Alexander." Le Besprit turned and trudged up the hall to a door just down from Cassie's. "This is a secondary room." He opened the door himself and looked around the large dressing room. "This will be your room." It was just as large as Cassie's but set up in a mirror image. Ryan smiled gratefully and entered his room. Their suitcases were brought down the hall to their rooms by stage hands supplied by the opera house.

That afternoon everyone got unpacked and settled in to their new home at the Opera House, some more comfortable with their new surroundings than others.


	16. One Moment

Cassie began unpacking her things carefully. She'd started calling her room the Rose room because everything in it was a color you could find on a rose bush. It was opulent, extravagant, and everything any girl could possibly wish for. Cassie reached out and touched the fine linens on the bed. The big comforter was lacey and frilly and the large canopy over the bed was made of filmy white tulle over a pale green brocade. Cassie hung some of her things in the closet, including the bag containing all the gowns that the girls were planning on wearing for the gala, which was to be held at the end of the week. Mia had brought down a few of her blouses as well and gawked at the splendor that was Cassie's room.

There was no TV in the opera house, just a closed circuit loop that played a 'coming soon' list of attractions for the Opera House. After five minutes no one could stand listening to it any more. Mr. Giles posted a schedule on the office door that had a list of curfew's, rehearsals, fittings, and events. There would be a movie shown, the opportunity to go out and of course, there was to be an etiquette refresher course for the gala. There was also a lot of free time where many of them planned to explore the theater.

The first day Mrs. Giles drilled everyone until their feet hurt. Cassie turned her ankle and fell just before lunch.

"Cassie!" Everyone came running over to her, Mrs. Giles pushed through and knelt beside her.

"Can you move it?" Cassie flexed her foot slowly. "Can you turn it?" Cassie rotated her foot. "Alright, you turned it a little bit…let it rest, ice it and keep it wrapped." Jason and Andy helped her hobble down to her dressing room.

"Whoa, this is nice." Andy said as they helped her to the settee. "Way nicer than our digs upstairs."

"Yeah, well, it's a nice room, but it's stuffy." Cassie said settling heavily on the chair. "Too many roses…too much gilt." She waved her hand around. "I'd be much happier with the simpler things.

"Well, we'll go get you some ice." Jason said as he and his brother got to the door. "See you in a bit."

Cassie leaned back and sighed against the big red velvet chair and closed her eyes. Her ankle throbbed slightly. She was humming her parts when a light knock came at the door.

"Your ice, madam." Ryan came in with an ice-pack and wrapped it in a t-shirt she'd left lying on the back of the chair at her dressing table. "Which one did you boo-boo."

"The right one smart ass." Cassie said laughing as Ryan sat at her feet and lifted her ankles into his lap gently. She hissed as he pressed the icepack to the slowly swelling ankle.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little." Mr. Giles knocked gently at the door before entering, Mr. Villefort close on his heels.

"Cassandra….how is it?"

"I think I'll be ok, Mr. Giles. Mrs. Giles looked at it and said I'll be fine…I just need to rest it."

"Are you sure?" Cassie looked over his shoulder at Mr. Villefort whose eyes were glaring daggers at Ryan who still sat with Cassie's ankle in his lap.

"Positive." Cassie was un-nerved by the glare Villefort was shooting Ryan. He'd changed so much since they'd arrived in Paris. She was finally picking up on the full fledged creepy vibe that everyone else had been catching since they'd met him. But deep down in her gut, she knew he was a decent guy. "I'll come in this afternoon for my rehearsal. I just don't think I should do all the stage movements."

"Oh, no we weren't going to do that yet." Mr. Giles assured her. "We'll send someone to get you at about two o'clock, alright?" He said as he left.

"Mr. Andrews, you'll be needed earlier than that. I suggest you go prepare for afternoon rehearsals." Mr. Villefort's voice was glacial as he left the room behind Mr. Villefort.

"Yes sir." Ryan called, but he made no motion to move. "That dude seriously weirds me out."

"I'm starting to get that vibe too." Cassie said sitting up slightly. "He's changed since we came to Paris. But I don't know what it is…."

"Yeah."

"You should go though…there's no need for everyone to wait because of me."

"Are you sure?"

"Go." Cassie smiled as Ryan left the room.

Later that afternoon Cassie hobbled to the stage, her ankle wrapped tightly in an ace-bandage. She didn't really need it, but she was doing it to keep the Giles' and Mr. Villefort happy.

"Cassandra, are your vocal chords attached to your ankle?" Mr. Villefort spat late in the rehearsal, slapping a script against his leg. Cassandra rolled her eyes and sighed.

"No." Cassandra answered quietly.

"What was that?"

"No Sir, they aren't."

"Then why aren't you hitting those notes? You've never had a problem before?" Mark coughed behind her.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just a little tired."

"Well, if you weren't dallying with your fellow cast members perhaps you'd be more refreshed for rehearsals." Villefort spat.

"Rick, is that entirely necessary?" Mr. Giles looked up from where he'd been talking to Andy and Jason. "No one is 'dallying' and she's a teen-ager, not a diva." Cassandra's jaw clenched and she clenched her fists at her sides, her gaze shooting daggers towards Villefort. Rehearsals went unwell after that. Everyone was walking on eggshells between Villefort's dictator like aura and Cassie's obvious anger at the man. When they were dismissed it was nearly time for dinner. All meals were being held in a large room beneath the stage and everyone moved to go there. Cassie followed downstairs and sat at a small table with Ryan and Mia.

"What's with Villefort?" Mia asked as she set down her tray. "He's acting mondo weird lately."

"I don't know, but he glared at me when I was with Cass after she hurt herself." Ryan said. "He's always set off ringers in my mind."

"Yeah, well…I think he's lost it. This competition has put a toll on the admin." Mia answered. "I mean, really…orchestrating this whole thing…getting two school's drama teams to set this up? It must be stressful. Maybe he's just snapped."

"Giles hasn't snapped."

"Whatever. How's your ankle Cass?" Cassie didn't answer but got up from her place and went back to the stage area. Ryan made to follow her but Mia grasped his arm.

"Let her go…she needs lots of space when she gets like this." Mia said as she watched her friend go up the stairs. "She needs to let go of some steam and you don't want to be around her."

Cassie strode calmly to center stage and looked out on row after row of plush seats covered in crimson velvet. Gilt carvings of heavenly beings and perfectly proportioned women surrounded the room and held up the mezzanine and upper balconies. The Chandelier's lights were out, but a sky light high in the side of the vaulted ceiling allowed the myriad of crystals to shimmer in the setting sun. She could just make out the painted sky in the fading light. She looked out onto the theater and realized that all too soon those seats would be filled with people watching her. She slipped the sandals from her feet and absently she began to hum as she sat to unwind the bandage from her foot. She stood and began a series of turns and spins around the stage, still humming softly to herself. "_Hark to their step on the ground-hear the drums! Hannibal comes!"_

"Very good Cassandra…it's good to see that you haven't squandered your talent completely." Cassandra stopped and only then realized that Mr. Villefort was standing just behind her within arms reach. She glared at the man.

"Mr. Villefort." Her voice seemed laced with poison and his gaze softened as he stared at her. She didn't like the look in his eyes. She felt naked before him in her tight dancing capri's and tank top.

"I'm sorry Cassandra. I fear I may have come off despicably earlier this afternoon."

"Yeah…you did." Cassandra stood taller in front of him. She was no longer a student of his, but a former student and as such did not fear for her grade, she was sure no amount of apology could make up for what he'd said. "Your accusations were not appreciated."

"I'm sorry…it's the stress I fear. That and being back in Paris."

"Is that how you know the language so well? And the streets?" Cassandra asked getting distracted.

"Oui." He said smiling and stepping closer to her. "You see, I was actually born just outside of Paris. My mother was Parisian…my father Danish." Mr. Villefort looked up to the Mezzanine and sighed, a glow coming into his eyes. "Theater has been a part of my life since I was born, but to be here…in this theater. It is nerve wracking and yet exhilarating."

Cassie followed his gaze to a seat somewhere in the shadows of the balcony.

"Why did you move to Denmark?"

"Business—of my father's." Mr. Villefort said smiling. "Your turns and ballet steps are coming along well, but what do you know of the classic waltz?"

"Only what Mrs. Giles showed us for _Masquerade_."

"Ah, that will never do for the gala!" Mr. Villefort straightened himself and bowed courteously to her. "If you would permit me to amend my horrid behavior earlier, I would like to teach you to dance." Cassie looked in his eyes, their green depths engulfing her. Against her better judgment, she placed her hand in his outstretched one and fell into position. She looked down briefly at her feet to make sure they were placed right but Villefort spoke. "No! Don't look down." Cassandra's eyes snapped back to his. "You must never look at your feet. And you must trust your partner and relax!" He added as he felt her muscles tighten when he placed his hand on her waist.

He slowly began guiding her around the stage in slow turns. It took her some time to realize that he was singing Music of the Night, even though the beat was not exactly right for their dance. At the end he spun her slowly away from him and then back in until she found herself practically pressed against his chest, their faces mere inches from one another. She shook her head and pulled away from him and without saying a word picked up her shoes and rushed back to her room, never once looking back at Mr. Villefort and his wonderfully green eyes.


	17. Exploration and Discoveries

Cassie woke up the next day and went to find the schedule…she had four hours in the morning with which the dancers were practicing and Villefort and Giles were working with the tech crew to get all the back drops and set pieces into place. This gave her, Mark, Ryan and Matt time to do whatever they wanted.

Mark went back to his dressing room, complaining that too much exploration would make them all late for afternoon rehearsals. Matt went to help with set pieces which left Ryan and Cassie to explore.

The first thing they did was to head to the foyer entrance with its marble stairs and polished columns. Cassie fell in love with it. Next they wound their way through the theater and found themselves behind the opera boxes. They made their way into box three, but couldn't get in to box five because it was locked. They watched the dance lessons for a few moments before continuing to the world behind the stage.

The bulk of the Opera was in fact behind the stage. It went up several stories and had roof access. There were four or five basements and of course, the infamous lake. Ryan and Cassie had made their way to the back stair cases that one could take either up to the lofts or down to the cellars.

"Shall we go up, or down?" Ryan asked.

"Down first…we can go up tomorrow." Cassie replied heading down the stairs into the inky blackness. They found 'the organ' the machine that in older times had been what supplied the opera house with gas for the lights. Now the room it was housed in was home to a large electric generator that was to be used in the event of an emergency. They also found where several of the old, large back drops were stored in a dry and dusty room.

"I wonder where Joseph Buquet was hanged?" Ryan asked as he tickled at Cassie's hips, causing her to jump.

"That's not funny Ryan…." Cassie felt chills run up and down her spine remembering that in Lereoux's book, Buquet had been hanged in the cellar, not on stage during Il Muto.

They continued deeper into the basements and finally came upon the lake, its black waters tinged green by pond scum and algae. From above they could hear the faint sounds of singing.

"The Siren, perhaps." Ryan said laughing.

"If you're going to joke about that type of thing, you'd do best to keep your hand at the level of your eyes, Ryan." Cassie admonished.

"Come on Cassie….isn't this cool? I mean, the famous Paris Opera House Lake…"

"It is interesting…." Cassie looked into the black water at her feet and thought she saw scrape marks in the mud at the lakes edge…like that of a boat being pushed into the water….or a body being pulled beneath the surface, never to be seen again.

Cassie turned quickly and she and Ryan made their way back up through the subterranean depths to the stage. Their excursion took them almost all the way to lunch.

Their rehearsals weren't draining, but after spending much time exploring Cassie and Ryan were tired and wished to do nothing more than return to their rooms and go to bed.

The next day the dancers had a chance to explore, while the principle leads had individual rehearsals, voice lessons and added stage instruction.

When the day was done, Matt, Mia, Ryan and Cassie made their way up to the costume loft and played a game of ERS.

"You should have taken the chance to explore yesterday, Matt. You look exhausted." Ryan said as he picked up more cards.

"I'm beat man….I'm going to sleep in tomorrow since the techies are getting all their added instruction tomorrow."

"What?" Mia asked.

"Yeah….there's no rehearsals on the stage tomorrow because of all the technical work being done. They're learning how to use the lights, the curtains, raising and lowering stuff on the winches….actually I heard Giles saying that no one would be allowed near the stage…to prevent an accident."

"So everyone is off tomorrow?"

"Yep…that's the sounds of it." Matt slapped at the cards and got beat out by Cassie.

"Good…then I can rest my poor feet….they're killing me." Mia said as she looked at her calloused feet.

The next day Matt, Ryan and Cassie decided to explore the upper lofts and see if they couldn't gain roof access. First they went through the lofts where the lesser cast members and techies were staying. They were actual rooms with solid walls filled with six bunks per room, dressers and boxes for various articles. Most people were choosing to live out of suitcases rather than unpacking completely as the leads had done.

The next level of the Opera house they found themselves in the costume area. Their racks were placed close to the door but as they walked farther back, they found costumes from other productions as well, all labeled with performers' names, dates, character names, scene's and other information. Some of it was written out by hand, while others were type written or word processed.

"Check it out…I can't tell what the name is, but the date says 1911." Matt said. "Look at the detail in these things…" He gently pulled one out of the rack and held up a green velvet smoking jacket with a tiger appliquéd to the back of it. The cuffs and neck were a heavy black silk.

"It's gorgeous." Cassie said gently brushing her fingertips over the appliqué. Matt returned the costume to its location and the three of them continued up higher in the Opera House.

They found where the old plaster works had been, back when such tasks had to have been done in house. Now anything that looked like it was made of plaster was more than likely spray painted foam and could be moved with great ease. They also found a rickety old wrought iron stair case that spiraled up towards a sky light, obviously giving them access to the roof.

"I wouldn't set foot on that if my life depended on it." Cassie said as she spotted the many rust stains eating away the metal work.

"Neither would I…it's chained off for a reason, obviously." Matt said fingering a heavy chain, equally rusted. A sign hung haphazardly from the links---words were practically obliterated by the rust patches, but they could just barely read a word that looked like 'caution' on it.

They continued to wander the opera lofts finding a props room, which they decided they would explore in greater detail some other day, and a secondary access to the roof. They spent a few moments walking across the metal roof admiring the statues of Apollo and other deities up close. When it got too hot on the roof, they went back into the blackness of the opera house.

"It's pretty cool up there….we should come up and watch the sun set…I bet it's awesome." Ryan said as he followed Cassie and Matt down the stairs. Ryan sat on the second step from the bottom while Cassie leaned against his knees. Matt leaned against a beam while they all rested and let their eyes adjust to the gloom of the inside world.

"Yeah…we should all come up here some night when we get the chance….Mia would love this." Cassie said. Ryan began to massage her shoulders while they all continued talking. Matt was scratching his back against the beam he was against when suddenly they all heard a faint clicking sound and saw the wall behind Matt's shoulder swing inwards. Matt lost his balance and tumbled into the secret passage way.

"What the---" Cassie and Ryan ran to where Matt was pulling himself up from the ground and dusting himself off.

"It's a passage way---what the hell did you hit to trigger it?" Ryan asked as he pulled a pen light from his pocket and shone it down the hall way.

"I dunno…let's see." Matt went back out and noticed that just where his shoulder blades had been rubbing, there was a knot in the wood on the beam. The center was actually a spring backed button that released the catch and allowed the wall to swing open.

"Cool." Matt and Ryan said when they figured out how it worked.

"Now let's see where it goes." Matt said. Matt took the light from Ryan and he led the way, Cassie following and Ryan taking up the rear. They went down a series of stairs until they could hear the people on stage shouting orders. They looked through a tiny window and found themselves above the catwalks looking down onto the stage where Mr. Giles, Mr. Le Besprit and Mr. Villefort were directing the placement of certain items on the stage and how they would move on and off it during the performances.

"Look here, there's a switch here…I bet it opens up onto the cat walk." They decided not to throw the switch in case someone saw themand continued on going up and down the stairwells getting thoroughly lost but always managing to orient themselves through tiny windows or peep holes. One looked out onto the backside of the dry wall of the dorms of the cast. They could hear someone moaning on the other side of the wall.

"Is someone sick?" Matt asked as they listened to the moaning. "God, they sound awful."

"I don't think they're in pain, Matty." Ryan answered. "I think it's a feeling of…shall we say…pleasure?" They listened again and this time could make out voices on the other side of the wall. They couldn't tell who it was exactly, or what they were saying at first but as their ears adjusted they could make out quite a bit.

"Mmm…Chris….Oh God…"

"Colleen….ooooh….shhh."

"Mmmm…harder Chris….do it harder….oooooooh." Matt's hand flew over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. Cassie's eyes were wide with shock.

"God Colleen, you're so---so…" But before they could here what Colleen was, they heard a high pitched scream of pleasure as she orgasmed.

"Holy shit…that's Colleen O'Malley." Ryan whispered. He and Matt were both laughing.

"I didn't know she was going with Christian Jones." Matt laughed. "Giles is wrong! Cast members are Dallying!" There was a little more moaning and finally it got quiet and the three of them had to move on before they were discovered.

They came to a T in the hall. They'd been to the right, but not the left. Matt pressed the button on his watch to make the light work and noticed it was almost time for his private rehearsal.

"I gotta go. You two keep exploring and let me know what other interesting things you hear."

"Are you sure you can get back on your own, Matt?" Ryan asked. "Maybe we should walk with you…"

"Nah..remember that door down here that opened up behind the stage a little bit, into the drapes? I'm going to exit there rather than all the way up at the roof or something."

"Ok, and you're sure you can find it?"

"Yeah, no biggie." Matt wandered off, using his indiglo light as an aide in the dark.

"Well, so off to the left, madame?" Ryan asked, shining his pen light down the corridor.

"Sure." They continued down and looked in on many more windows before finding something disturbing.

Ryan noticed a window opening high on one wall. When he stood on a ledge at knee level he could just barely see through the two holes punched in the wall. It looked out into an office. From the looks of it, it was the one Giles and Villefort were using.

"Creepy." Ryan said as he looked out. "I think these holes are in the eyes of that painting."

Farther down they could hear Mark coughing in his room.

"We're close to our dressing rooms." Ryan said as they looked in on Davette who was reclined on her bed listening to a CD. They continued around and then found their way down a set of stairs, across a long hall and back up another flight of stairs. They walked around a corner, not finding anything that looked interesting and finally went down a hall that stopped abruptly at the end.

"There's levers here…on either side." Ryan said looking at the chains and weights that would allow the doors to swing open once the mechanisms were worked. "We should be at our rooms…." He pulled the lever down and leapt back as dust flew off the weights as they fell and the wall opened into Ryan's room.

"Holy cow….now try that one." Ryan said. Cassie pulled with all her might and eventually got the door to spring open. It opened into the Rose room.

"Wow." They entered their dressing rooms and tried to find the mechanisms by which to open them from the inside of their rooms. Ryan's worked when he pressed his foot down on a knob in the wainscoting. But Cassie's would not open from her side.

"Maybe it's a one-sided deal…like you could get into this room from the tunnel…but not out." Ryan said. "No matter…it works from my side…that's cool enough." Cassie nodded. Somehow though, she no longer felt comfortable in her room.

Later that night after their dinners were finished Cassie, Ryan, Matt and Mia went up to the roof and sat staring out at the Parisian sunset. Colors of red and pink faded into beautiful purples and a blue-y green. Cassie lay her head in Ryan's lap and looked up at the enchanting sky. The first stars blinked into view as the sky became darker and darker in it's shades of purple.

"Let's make a wish." Mia said as she was pulled to her feet by Matt. "I wish…."

"Don't say it aloud, or it won't come true twinkle toes." Cassie admonished. Matt spun Mia around in a fast waltz on the roof top. They laughed and talked until a chill wind blew through the gables and brought with it the smell of rain.

"We should get down stairs before we get caught in the storm." Ryan said helping Cassie up. She looked up at the statue of Apollo, the moon light glinting off the gold. Cassie just thought she could see two red stars through the strings of the lyre. Words from leroux's book bounced through her head and she made a rush for the door. The four of them exited the roof just as the rain began to fall.

_A/N: To my reviewers, many thanks. I really appreciate the input and I've taken a lot of what you said into consideration and edited some of my chapters a little bit. I hope I'm succeeding bit by bit. Enjoy..._


	18. In Dreams He came

Cassie's dreams that night were nightmarish. She dreamt of the lake below the opera house and someone pulling her down into the inky depths. Ryan stood on the bank and just watched her as she was taken into the water.

"Help! Please!" She called to him, but he turned from her as if he could neither see nor hear her.

"You see, he doesn't care for you." A voice whispered at her from the water as she was taken beneath the waves. "He doesn't love you like I do." She could feel a breath at her throat, just below her ear, as if someone were right beside her.

Cassie sat up quickly and felt cold, as if she'd been dunked in ice water. She rubbed her neck where in her dream she had felt the person whispering to her….it was eerie, she still felt as though someone had just been whispering to her. This was just too much to bear. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and wandered to the stage and sat to think.

What did the dream mean? Did it mean anything, or was the exploration of the opera house getting away with her imagination? She was pondering this last thought when she felt as if she were being watched; that inexplicable feeling when you know someone's eyes are upon you but you don't know from whence the stare comes. Cassie rose slowly and stared out into the shaded theater. Few of the house lights were on and she could only see a few rows back before the theater was plunged into complete darkness. She stepped away from the edge of the stage, her heart pounding so hard in her chest, she was sure she'd wake the whole of the Opera house. She had just reached the curtains at stage right when a figure stepped in front of her.

Cassie screamed and retreated back to the stage. Mr. Villefort stepped forward, concern etched across his face.

"Cassandra? Are you alright?"

"Mr. Villefort? Jesus, you scared the crap out of me." Cassie said pressing her hand to her chest in an effort to keep her heart from busting through her rib cage.

"What are you doing out of bed? Why aren't you sleeping like the rest of the cast?"

"I….I had a nightmare." Cassie said quietly. "I just wanted to clear my head, but this place…it's so…"

"Haunting?" Villefort said when Cassie couldn't find the words.

"Yes….I guess that's it." Cassie looked up into Villefort's dark green eyes and saw something in them that sent an even deeper chill down her spine than even her nightmare had. "But I should probably get back to bed….no sense in standing here all night…catching cold or something." She slipped past Villefort without looking at him again and when she knew she was out of his line of sight she sprinted for her room, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Cassie? Cassie, are you awake yet?" Cassie opened her eyes slowly and looked at the door. It had taken her most of the night to go back to sleep. She was laying on the settee in the rose room. She felt disoriented at first, but managed to rub the sleep from her eyes and went to the door.

"Good morning Mrs. Giles." Cassie said when she answered her door.

"Are you alright dear? Mr. Villefort said you weren't feeling well last night."

"Oh, I feel fine, I just had a nightmare…must be the stress."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then you better get ready, rehearsals start in half an hour." Cassie looked at her watch and swore under her breath.

"I'll be right down…thank you Mrs. Giles." Cassie quickly dressed for rehearsals and ran for the stage.

Dressed in her dance clothes she grabbed her shoes and sprinted back to the stage barefoot and joined the cast.

"We'll start from Masquerade…now we have more space on this stage, so don't be afraid to use it ladies and gentlemen." Mr. Giles yelled. People shuffled to their spots on the stage, avoiding as best they could the tape marks which were there to mark where props were to be placed during the performance and dress rehearsals. "Don't worry about singing yet…just go through the steps and get the feel for the bigger stage." Ryan and Cassie stood off to one side as the beginning of the performance started and everyone tried to use the whole stage to the best of their abilities.

"You OK? You look a little flustered this morning." Ryan said as Cassie put on her shoes and stood up to get ready to enter the stage with him.

"I'm alright, I'll talk to you about it later, OK?" Ryan and Cassie whirled onto the stage and waltzed across the whole thing and joined in the whirl of other students.

"Watch your steps Andrew! For goodness sakes Glide…don't stomp!" Mrs. Giles said walking between the couples and avoiding some as they spun across the stage. "Cassie stand up straight…don't slouch." She said as Cassie and Ryan hit their mark on the right side of the stage for their solo. Cassie threw her shoulders back as Ryan started the spin to bring her back into the middle of the ball. The next thing she had to do was a series of spins as everyone around her would have phantom masks on during the performance. She was nearly finished when her eyes caught something in one of the boxes above the stage. She stopped mid spin a little off balance and looked up to the box again where she was sure she saw a man retreating back into the deepest recess of the box. Suddenly Christian and Colleen collided with her and sent her flying on her hip across the stage. Cassie rose as quickly as she could and looked up to the box again but could see no one. Everyone else was rushing to see if she was OK.

"What is it Cassie?"

"I saw someone up there…."

"That's preposterous Cassandra, there's no one in the theater."

"But I saw…"

"Cass…there's nothing there."

"I saw someone standing there!" Cassie wheeled on Matt and Ryan who were standing behind her staring at her as if she had seriously lost her mind. She shook her head as Mr. Giles dispatched MR. LeBesprit to see if there was anything behind Cassie's statement. The Opera was on lockdown to keep the press from getting pictures of the performance before the release date. When Mr. Le Besprit came back, he assured Cassie that no one was there and that no one could get in. Cassie was still unsure, but went about the rest of rehearsals without any further difficulty. When they were dismissed for lunch Ryan, Cassie, Matt and Mia stopped in a darkened hall to discuss what Cassie had seen.

"And last night, I had this horrible nightmare…" Cassie relayed her dream to her friends as well. She saw the pain it caused Ryan to think that she'd dreamt he didn't care, but she knew she needed to get the nightmare off her mind and tell it to others.

"The voice in the water said that he loved me….but it wasn't Ryan…"

"So what do you think it all means?" Matt asked.

"It means Cassie's losing it." Mia said shaking her head and grasping Cassie's shoulders. "It means nothing…she's just stressed out like the rest of us. Right Cass?" Mia asked with a reassuring shake. Cassie nodded.

"It must be…I just feel better knowing I can tell you guys about it…."

"OK, let's go get some lunch then, I'm starving!" Matt said dragging Mia off.

Two nights later, after a long game of ERS up in the costume loft Cassie fell gratefully into her bed. She was so tired after days of rehearsals and practicing a special song for the gala performance. Villefort said that almost everyone would be showcasing their talents at the performance. It was an easy enough song for her to do, but it was in Italian and she had to learn the proper pronunciations for the words of the aria. Absent mindedly she began to sing through the words of the song and was very quickly asleep.

She was running through the subterranean passages of the Opera house. Her heart was pounding but Cassie knew she had to keep running because someone was chasing her. None of the tunnels connected the way they were supposed to and Cassie was soon up in the lofts and running across the catwalks. She ducked onto the stage and cowered behind some of the props hoping her pursuer would fall off the chase. The man ran past where Cassandra was hiding and she heaved a sigh of relief. She was rising from her hiding place when the man leapt over the props and landed with a heavy thud in front of her. He gripped her arms tightly pinning her to a wall. His eyes glowed a horrible red and the lower half of his face was covered with a black scarf.

"You shouldn't have told…you shouldn't have told them about me." He hissed at her. "You shouldn't have told them I loved you."

Cassie screamed and woke up to find that someone really was pinning her arms to the bed…a man with his face half covered by a black scarf his eyes great black holes. Cassie screamed again and fought off the man pinning her to the bed. Before she could do much else he released her and disappeared into the dark shadows of her room. She tried to follow the figure even as she reached for the light beside her bed and ran for the door at the same time. She knocked the lamp to the floor in her hurry and heard it break. Suddenly something caught her eye in the mirror. It was flames…but there were no flames in her room. And then, as the flames moved in the mirror's reflection she saw a body, charred and blackened by the very flames dancing in the reflection hanging from a noose. It took up the full length of the big mirror and Cassie, pressed against the door as she was, could see every horrible detail of the dead body. Cassie screamed louder and reached for the knob on her door, but couldn't get it to open from the inside….the door was locked! She could hear someone run down the hall on the other side of the door and she screamed for help all the louder. The door burst open behind her and she tumbled backwards into Ryan's arms. Mark and Matt were just behind him. Mia was sprinting up the hall yelling for Mr. Villefort who was on evening patrol. The door slammed shut as Cassie exited but not before Ryan and Mark saw the dead body hanging in her mirror's reflection.

Mr. Giles and Mia were down the hall way in an instant where they found Cassie shaking uncontrollably in Ryan's arms and staring wide eyed at her door.

"Cassie, what happened?" Mr. Giles asked looking at the terrified girl. But Cassie couldn't answer.

"What the hell is going on down here?" Mr. Villefort came down the hall while everyone stared at Ryan and Cassie.

"There was a body…..hanging in Cassie's mirror." Ryan finally managed to get out. "I've never seen anything like it."

"What?" MR. Giles stepped back from the two of them. Mark stood staring at the door as well.

"I saw it too Mr. Giles….I wouldn't believe them if I hadn't….but I saw it."

"There were flames…and He was there." Cassie whispered, finally able to find her voice. "He was there…the man from my dreams…the man from the box…he was in my room." She started to sob quietly.

"Cassie are you sure?" Mr. Giles asked.

"He had pinned me to the bed…I screamed." Cassie looked up at Ryan, tears straining her cheeks. "He's still in there…he's got to be!"

"Cassandra, are you sure he's in there?"

"There's no other way out!" She cried, sobbing hysterically now. She briefly thought of the passage but the thought was gone as soon as it had entered her brain. She began to shake again and Ryan held her tighter. Giles and Villefort tried in vain to open the doors to her room and finally managed to barge in using a little shoulder power.

They exited the room soon after entering seeing nothing except the broken lamp.

"There's no one there." Villefort announced. "It must have been a dream." Ryan's hands moved down Cassie's arms as he started to argue with Villefort and Giles about what they'd seen. Cassie pushed away from Ryan and pulled her sleeves up. There on her arms were faint purple hand marks, that of the man who had pinned Cassie to the bed.

"Is this a dream too?" Cassie asked, as she sniffled. Everyone turned to look at her and gasped for all could clearly see the hand prints.

"Call the police Mr. Villefort…there's someone in this opera house." Mr. Giles said, his voice distant as he stared at the bruises on Cassie's arms.

Everyone was assembled in the theater and had to wait for the police to arrive. Most of the cast had been awakened and were now back asleep in the plush scarlet chairs of the opera house. Cassie, Ryan and Matt were standing off to one side. Cassie was wearing Ryan's St. Mark's sweatshirt and he was still holding onto her. Everyone was questioned by the police but nothing could be done.

"I suggest the young people be drug tested." Ryan heard the inspector say to Mr. Giles. "Ils doivent l'avoir halluciné."

"And the bruises?"

"Peut-être elle et son amant était un petit rough….ceci pourrait être un canular soigné pour couvrir leurs activités." (Maybe she and her lover were a little rough….this could all be an elaborate hoax to cover their activities)The inspector tipped his cap to the teachers and left.

"I didn't hallucinate it." Cassie said loudly and defiantly. "I know what I saw….and felt."

"I believe you Miss Davagé, but the good inspector and his men turned the opera house upside down and found nothing. Now, I suggest you go back to bed before I seriously consider the inspector's suggestion of a drug test." Mr. Villefort's words were cold and his stare sent daggers in Cassandra's direction.

It was still relatively early when the rest of the opera house returned to their beds. Rehearsals were getting pushed back a few hours to allow everyone to catch up on their sleep. Ryan walked Cassie back to her room and watched as she stood at her door, hand upon the knob, but wouldn't turn it.

"He was in there Ryan…I know it."

"I believe you Cass."

"Oh God…I'm so scared…" Cassie whispered more to herself than any one in particular. She took a deep breath, shook her head, and pushed the door open forcefully, closing it equally as forcefully on Ryan.

Cassie looked at her room. Someone had picked up the fancy lamp and had replaced it for the time being with an old lamp that looked as if it might have come from a 1960's Opium den. Cassie let her gaze wander all around the room and stared hard into every dark corner. When her eyes came across the mirror, she grabbed an afghan and dashed to it flinging the blanket over the mirror and making sure that not the slightest bit of glass could get a view into her room. She was covering the mirror over her dresser when she heard a rapping at the secret door and Ryan's voice announcing his presence.

"What're you doing Cass? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Yes…but how can I sleep when I know that someone could be watching?"

"You think the mirrors are like the ones in the movie?"

"Yep. IT would be easy to look in from that secret passage."

"WE'll check that out tomorrow…but for now you need some sleep."

"I do…I know I do…but how can I when every time I sleep, He's there?" Cassie grasped her arms and shivered. The idea that the man from her dreams had come to life, or that this man in life was also in her dreams terrified her. He had no business being in both locations…she liked it better when he was only in her dreams and she could wake up and know she was safe. Ryan wrapped his arms around Cassie and held her as her mind chased its demons.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered. "I'll stay up all night and stand guard over you, you know that right?" Cassie nodded and relished the feeling of his warm, strong arms around her.

"I can't sleep here Ryan…..let's go back to your room…." Ryan nodded and led Cassie back through the wall, closing it behind him and led her into his room.

Ryan's room was as opulent as Cassandra's, but in a very masculine way. Everything was a deep mahogany color, and all the fabrics were done in tranquil greens and gold's. Even the old oriental carpet was predominately green. Cassie went to the settee and made to lay down when Ryan spoke up.

"You can take the bed Cass, I'll sleep on the couch."

"I couldn't…"

"You can and you will…you need to sleep." Ryan pulled the covers up to Cassie's chin and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right over here on the couch."

"Won't you stay? Please?" Cassie pleaded. Ryan was quick to obey and leapt into bed beside her, wrapping her in his arms, knowing that he could protect her for now.


	19. A shape in the shadows

The next morning everyone was grouchy and irritable because their sleep had been disrupted. No one wandered the opera house alone anymore and many of the girls roamed in gigantic packs, clogging the corridors and screaming at anything in the shadows.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Mia huffed one afternoon. "Why can't they all just grow up and get over themselves?"

"They've imagined some horrible monster….he's only a man." Cassandra's voice was distant.

"You sound as if you forgive him, Cass….."Ryan cut in.

"I don't know right now." Cassie forced her way through the girls and to Mr. Villefort's office to discuss her aria with him.

"I'm glad to see you feeling better, Cassandra." Mr. Villefort said. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's alright, I'd probably be skeptical too if I hadn't seen it." Cassie stood at the piano and opened her music, she didn't really need it anymore, but only did it out of habit.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No….actually, I'm over it." Inwardly Cassie knew it was a lie, but for some reason she felt compelled to maintain a bold face in front of Mr. Villefort. The creepy vibe that everyone had experienced over him was finally hitting her like a brick wall. Where was he when she'd been in danger last night? He was supposed to be on patrol, but was one of the last to arrive. There were other things though….the way he appeared behind her in corridors, the way he acted around her……..his eyes.

His eyes were probably the thing that un-nerved her the most. Those deep green eyes that could send shivers through her. She could always feel when those eyes were on her, it sent chills radiating through her body…those chills were sliding up and down her spine now. She knew he was staring at her. Cassie tried to avoid his gaze throughout practice but found it impossible.

"Very good Cassandra…you may leave now." Cassie grabbed her music from the piano top and left the room. If she'd been moving any faster, she'd have been running. When she turned the corner she leaned heavily against the wall and sighed. Just a few more weeks and then Richard Villefort would be out of her life forever. She sighed again and continued down the hall to her room where she flopped listlessly onto her bed. The rose room now looked like a Rosie gypsy village…..afghans and blankets covered every mirror and painting in her room she was so paranoid about who could see in or what could happen. A slight knock at the wall alerted her to Ryan's presence and she ran to the wall to knock in return. It was their system now since Ryan had nearly walked through the wall one day when Mrs. Giles had been in Cassie's room.

"How are you Cassie?" Ryan asked as he entered.

"Tired still. Thanks for letting me stay over last night." Cassie said going back to the bed and lying down. Ryan sat on the bed beside her and gently rubbed her back.

"Not a problem…." Ryan looked over his shoulder at the covered mirror. "I wonder though……"

"What?" Cassie followed Ryan's gaze as he flopped onto his stomach and looked at the mirror harder.

"How did whoever it was do it?"

"I don't want to think about it…."

"No no no…..think about it….we've been back there….there's not enough space to hang someone in effigy back there."

"Ryan—"

"Come on…" Ryan pulled Cassie from the bed and went back through the wall making sure to close the door behind them. Ryan drug Cassie down the hall and around the corner, carefully pacing off the distance to where the mirror should be.

"OUCH!" Ryan stopped abruptly causing Cassie to crash into him.

"What is it?"

"There's a wall here…."

"What?" Ryan pulled his pocket light from his pocket and shined it on an angled box in the middle of the corridor. It took up the full size of the top of the corridor and angled down to the floor.

"Isn't that the exact size of your mirror?" Ryan asked shining it on the box.

"I guess."

"This would explain a lot…it would give a person a lot more space to work with up there."

"So you think that's a mirror…..that what I saw was a reflection of something happening above my room?"

"Yeah…..it would make some sense." Cassie gripped Ryan's arm and shivered.

"Don't worry Cass….there's no one that's gonna get you, OK? Not so long as I'm here." Ryan kissed her gently and held her close. "No one…."

As the night of the gala approached, Cassie's nerves began to heighten. There were strange things going on in the opera house. Most of them could be explained away by mischievous and love struck cast members getting a little too frisky, but props, music books and costumes missing could not.

"Whoever is stealing these things will be punished." Mr. Giles said on the day that they discovered the wedding dress used on the mannequin was gone. "I'm going to turn this place upside down to find out where that costume is." The costume was found the next day, lying in the middle of the stage in a ball. Parts of it were torn and others stained a dirty gray. It looked as if it had been carried through a dust-bin.

The costume department at the theater tried to clean it and repair it, but the damage was beyond anything they could help with. Cassie had to endure more fittings on a dress from a different production. The dress was exquisite and grand. Layers upon layers of white lace created the skirt which had heavy layering while the bodice was fitted and beaded with tiny bits of crystal and pearls. It was designed after a drawing from an early 1900 magazine and had been used in one of the last productions done at the newly refurbished opera house.

"Wow, Cassie. That's gonna be like, the best costume in the play." Mia said as the costumers finished pinning the gown around Cassie. She was sitting on the floor watching as they worked. "As usual, you look spectacular."

"It feels wrong." Cassie said as she turned in the mirror. "I can't explain it….it just feels wrong."

"That's because of the pins…and it's heavier. It's a real wedding dress you know." The costume keeper said.

"What?"

"Yes, it was purchased at a bridal shop and modified to match what we needed…very old this…so you won't be wearing it too much." Cassie caught Mia's gaze in the mirror and shook her head. It was more than the pins in the dress that made it wrong.

"I'm going to go down and visit Matt." Mia said getting up and brushing the seat of her pants off. "I'll see you at dinner Cass."

"Alright." Cassie answered as the last of the work on the dress was completed. The costumers helped her out of the costume and sent Cassie on her way. They had a lot of altering to do and not a lot of time to do it. They were set to open in a week and a half.

Cassie left the costume loft and shook her hair out of the bun she'd had it in while they were working on her gown. She walked to the edge of the catwalk at the end of the loft and looked down on the stage where Ryan was working with Mark on some of the lines. Cassie looked down and smiled as she caught Ryan's eye. He grinned and waved as he and Mark caught the right note. They stopped singing for a moment and looked up to where Cassie was staring down at them.

"Come down here and sing with us, Cassandra." Mark called out. "We need you to be the bridge."

"You sound fine to me…" Something stirred behind Cassandra and she turned, but saw nothing. "I'll be down in a minute." Cassie said turning back. A chill raced up her spine and she saw Villefort step onto the stage from the right. She looked down and suddenly saw Mark grip Ryan's arm, staring wide eyed at Cassandra.

"Cassandra! RUN!" Mark shouted. Everyone looked up to where Cassie was. She turned quickly and saw the dark figure of a man standing right behind her. It was the same man from the other night, the same man who had grabbed her in her sleep. She screamed and pushed the person away from her as hard as she could and sprinted down the catwalk. She could hear the man's heavy breaths and his footfalls as he chased her back through the opera house. She heard Villefort shout something to Ryan and Mark on the stage but paid it little heed. She had to keep distance between her and the man chasing her. She ran into a hall cluttered with mannequins and tall light stands. She pulled one down behind her and kept running, pulling several more down behind her blocking the man's path and effectively slowing him.

Cassie ran blindly towards the voices she heard coming to her aid. She could still hear the man behind her though she had put some space between them. Cassie felt disoriented and didn't know what to do. She shouted out and heard one thing in return.

"Get to the props room!"

Cassie sprinted up the stairs two at a time. She fell halfway up them and fell hard on the stairs. She lost her breath for a moment, but knew she had to keep running and managed to burst into the props room. She looked around frantically, everything seeming suddenly very frightening, though she'd been up here many times before. She found a stack of steamer trunks and dove into the gap behind them. She could look up and see the rest of the room between a space in the trunks and the pile of clutter to the left. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly the man in black came in the room. He walked slowly down the aisle in the middle of the room and paused several feet away from Cassie. Cassie still couldn't see the man's face for it was covered by the black scarf, he wore a long cloak and his hands were covered by black gloves. Cassie watched as the man continued to stroll slowly towards her hiding spot. Cassie ducked her head and winced as the man looked behind props on the other side of the aisle. She'd never been so terrified in her life. Suddenly there was a noise and someone shouted. Cassie looked up to see Mark sprinting after the mystery man, Ryan close behind. The man ran for the far side of the props room, grabbed a set of chairs and threw them in the way. The man disappeared out the door and Mark and Ryan continued after him. Mr. Villefort came into the room next and stopped beside where Cassie still sat cowering, unable to move even though the man was gone.

"Cassandra? You can come out now." Cassie took a few shaky breaths but couldn't get her body to function. "Cassandra? Are you here?"

"Yes…" Cassie squeaked out. "Yes…I'm here." She was finding it hard to catch her breath after she had held it for so long. Mr. Villefort looked over the pile of clutter and saw Cassie sitting on the floor. He pulled the trunks down and helped her up from the floor.

"It's alright, Cassandra. It's alright, I've got you. Shhh, child…." Mr. Villefort could feel Cassandra's body quivering. "Come here, I've got you…" Cassandra fell into Mr. Villefort's arms and let him comfort her. She heard Ryan and Mark return but didn't move from the protective embrace she know found herself in.

Cassandra held onto Mr. Villefort even as he gave instructions to Ryan and Mark to pick up some of the clutter off the floor of the props room. Villefort began to walk Cassie from the room.

"It was Him…" Cassie said suddenly. "The man from the other night."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Villefort looked down at the terrified girl standing in his embrace. Cassie slowly brought her gaze up to meet his haunting green eyes and nodded.

"It was Him."

Ryan and Mark followed behind Villefort and Cassie back down the stage area where many people had congregated after hearing the three men running and Cassandra's screams for help. Villefort had to half carry Cassandra down the stairs because she was still shaking so hard.

"Mr. Villefort, what in God's name is going on here!" Mr. Giles said seeing the state Cassandra was in.

"Call the police Horrace. It would seem they were right about an intruder."

"What?"

"I saw him myself today. He scared poor Cassandra half to death." Mia raced forward and came to take Cassandra from Mr. Villefort's arms.

"You're shaking like a leaf!" Mia said as she pulled Cassie aside. Ryan came and stood behind them still slightly out of breath from running up and down the stairs.

"Cassie?" He reached out and touched her shoulder gently. Cassie turned towards him and looked into his concerned eyes. "Are you OK?" Cassie nodded slightly. Her heart felt ready to burst from her chest.

"I want to call my dad."

"Alright, we'll get you to a phone."

It was at that exact moment that all the lights in the opera house went out.

_A/N: You'll have to deal with a cliffie for the next few days as I'll be without internet access...muahahahahahaha...Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everybody!_


	20. A Little Fall of Rain

Several of the girls screamed as the lights went out and Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles tried to gain control of the hysterical high school students. Cassie slumped down and sat on the floor of the stage, Ryan crouched beside her.

"Cassie?"

"Yeah?" Her voice was muffled, as if she were speaking from a great distance through a megaphone.

"You OK?"

"Yeah." Ryan shone his penlight down on Cassie and saw that she had her head resting against her arms.

"Cassie, I'm so sorry."

"Why? There's nothing to be done…I'm just so….frustrated!" Cassie said lifting her head and looking around. Several of the opera house workers were passing flashlights out to the cast and speaking in rapid French.

"There's a storm outside." Mark said sitting down near Ryan. "They say that lightening knocked out power in eight or nine surrounding city blocks."

"Shit, so no electricity—no phones…." Ryan turned his pen light towards where Mr. Giles was standing over the cast on a riser. "Why don't they kick on that emergency generator down in the organ?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we want you all to remain in your rooms for the present time." Mr. Giles shouted. "Take your flashlights and depart at once, BE CAREFUL!"

"What about the emergency generator?" Ryan shouted out.

"It's not hooked up yet." Villefort said stepping into the light of Ryan's flashlight, his eyes sunken hallows in his head. "There's no way to get the power from the generator to the opera house. Now, go back to your rooms….all of you."

"But what about the—" Matt didn't finish his sentence because Mia elbowed him.

"When He wants to be found, he will be." Cassie said rising. Somehow she had an intimate understanding of the way the mystery man functioned. She knew that he could hide in any one of the many secret passage ways of the opera house and disappear from their site, but know where each of them was.

Ryan walked Cassie back to her room and stayed with her for a while. Eventually Cassie lay on the bed and went to sleep. Ryan left soon after to go discuss what he and Mark had seen.

When Cassie awoke she could hear the faint rumblings of the storm outside and smell the heavy scent of rain. Everything was still very dark in the opera house, an occasional beam of a flashlight would shine beneath her door for an instant but other than that there was no light. Cassie scrounged through her bedside table and pulled out her calling card. She knew it was the calling card because it still had a line of glue on the back from where it had been stuck to the cardboard in the store.

She tucked the card in her pants pocket and pulled her hair back. She stepped out into the hall and walked carefully towards Mr. Villefort's office. She slipped inside the unlocked door and went to the desk. It took her a moment to find the telephone, but when she put the receiver to her ear she heard no dial tone.

"The storm really did take everything out." Cassie muttered. She remembered someone saying the power was out on the eight surrounding blocks. She thought about the mental map of the city she'd made but was drawing a blank. She left the office and went back out. She wandered towards the foyer of the opera house, but found Mr. Villefort and Giles talking to several other men. She avoided them and made her way to the back of the opera house, to the door they'd entered when they'd first arrived at the opera house. Everything seemed so bright and cheery then. Now it had all lost its luster. One man sat at the desk beside the door he was reading a paper by the light of a faint emergency light and looked up when Cassie approached.

"Le coup manqué, vous ne devez pas être de votre pièce. Quelque chose mauvais est-il ?" (Miss, you shouldn't be out of your room. Is there something wrong?)

"No. Merci pour demander bien que." (No, thank you for asking though) Cassie pushed open the door to the street and looked at the rain pelting down onto the city. A tiny river was running down the back alley carrying trash and other debris with it.

"Mademoiselle, s'il vous plaît. ..come dos à l'intérieur" (Miss, please come inside) Cassie turned back to the man who was trying to get her back inside with words.

"Je suis monsieur désolé. ...I ne peut pas rester juste ici plus. Vos mots ne peuvent pas me garder ici!" (I'm sorry sir, I just can't stay here any more. Your words will not keep me here!) Cassie turned back and sprinted into the alley and down the street with the flow of the water. She could hear the man behind her shouting for her to return, but she had no interest in listening to him. Her only interest was finding a functional pay phone.

Cassie ran and ran and ran. The gray light of the outside world was interrupted by the bursts of lightening flickering through the streets. All the street lights in front of her were out. She crested a hill and looked down and could see street lights shining in the distance…she'd found the part of town that had power! She was soaked straight through, her shirt clung to her shoulders, her hair was plastered in sticky strands to her face. People stared at the girl running down the street and watched as she continued steadfastly towards her destination. She walked into a deli with a light on and asked the man behind the glass case for directions to a pay phone. He waved his hand aimlessly and gave directions in very fast French. He wanted this poor looking girl out of his shop as quickly as possible.

Cassie followed the directions as best she could and eventually found a phone booth. She stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her. She was soaked straight through her clothes to her underwear, her hair clung to her face in heavy strands and her sneakers squelched as she stepped up to the phone in the tight space and pulled her calling card out of her pocket. Her hands shook as she punched the buttons and listened to the instructions.

"Hello, this is Charles Davagé." Her father's voice came over the line.

"Daddy?"

"Cassie, baby? Hey!" Cassie sighed heavily into the phone and listened as her father asked questions. "You're in Paris, right? How is everything?"

"So-So."

"What's wrong, problems with that boy….what's his name sweetheart, Robert?"

"Ryan, and things with him are fine."

"Is it the play, how's that going?"

"Not so good, Daddy."

"What's wrong? Is it your teachers? The staff?" Cassie started out from the beginning of the troubles with the dark man and what had happened today.

"Cassie, stay with someone at all times….Don't go anywhere by your self." Cassie sobbed into the receiver. "Baby?"

"Daddy, I had to run to this pay phone to call you." Cassie managed to get out between sobs. "I'm so scared; I don't want to stay there…"

"Cassie, call the opera house, get a cab or something."

"I can't, there are no phones, no lights at the opera house…that's why I left."

"Hey, baby…listen to me…You're going to be alright. Take a deep breath." Cassie did as she was told and listened to her father talk to her in soothing tones for the next ten minutes.

"I love you daddy."

"I love you too baby. Hey, if you want, I'll have you here in Russia with me in a heartbeat. If things get too scary, all you have to do is call, OK?"

"OK."

"Find a way to get back to the opera house, OK? Get dry, stay safe and give this thing another try."

"I will."

"Bye baby."

"Bye." Cassie listened for her father to hang up but he didn't.

"Cassie, hang up the phone."

"I will Daddy."

"Now." Her father had a slight laugh in his voice. "You know I'm a phone call away."

"OK." Cassie hung up the phone and rested her head against the metal box. Someone started pounding on the doors and yelling in angry French. Cassie opened the door and exited the phone booth as the angry Frenchman entered it. She looked around in the fading light and ambled back towards where the Opera house sat. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep some warmth in her, but the rain, still pelting down, dampened the effort. The rain had fallen so quickly the drains could not accommodate the water. It was running over the smooth sidewalks and in fast torrents through the gutters. It came up over the tops of her feet and soaked the bottoms of her jeans. She felt as if she was fighting to take every step back towards the opera house. She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up over her already soaked head just to keep the rain out of her eyes.

"This was the dumbest, most foolish…no, crazy idea I've ever had." She muttered to herself as she kicked up water in front of her. "I couldn't have waited for the rain to stop could I?" She was still trudging back to the opera house, head down and cold, when she heard footsteps fast approaching from in front of her.

"Cassie!" Cassie's head snapped up to see Matt running towards her. "Cassie! Oh thank God!" Cassie stopped as Matt came to a halt in front of her.

"Matt?"

"Mr. Giles turned almost the whole damn opera house out to look for you….you're soaked!"

"Well, at least we know you can state the blatantly obvious." Cassie said heavily. "I just couldn't stay there….I was afraid to…."

"Hey, come on, let's get you out of the rain." Matt put a protective arm around her and walked with Cassie back to the Opera house. They entered the square in front of the Opera house and looked up at the building, which looked miserable in the rain and damp. "It's lost a lot of luster, hasn't it?" Matt said as they reached the top of the stone steps out front. "Mia and I were talking about it last night."

"Yeah…a lot of luster." Cassie said absently as Matt opened the door for her. "It's too scary now…no fun."

"What in GOD'S name possessed you to run from here Cassandra!" Mrs. Giles shouted when Matt brought Cassie into the foyer, her shoes making an audible 'squelching' sound that echoed off the lavish walls. "You, of all people should know why you shouldn't go out by yourself!"

"I'm sorry…"

"She's back!" Mr. Giles rounded the corner and came to stand in front of Cassandra where he hugged her tightly before pushing her out to arms length. "Cassandra, my office, NOW!" Cassandra shrugged and followed the Giles' to the office.

"Cassandra?" Mr. Villefort stood when Cassandra came in the office. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I went to find a pay phone." She answered dully sitting in the big leather chair in front of the desk, not really caring how wet she was.

"A pay phone? What on earth for, to order a pizza?" Mr. Giles bellowed sitting in the chair opposite her.

"To call my father." Cassandra said defensively.

"Whatever for?" Mrs. Giles asked gently. Cassandra was surrounded now, Mr. Giles to her left in the big chair, Mrs. Giles perched on the big couch behind her and Mr. Villefort leaning against the desk in front of her, his arms crossed and staring imposingly down at her.

"I don't get to see my father…ever!" Cassandra suddenly shouted. "EVER! I was terrified earlier today….out of my mind with terror and frustration and fear and…and….I just wanted to talk to my father! Is that so damn hard to believe?" her comment was met with absolute silence.

"Miss Davagé," Mr. Giles started out gently. "next time you feel the need to run twelve blocks to a pay phone, please do us the honor of telling someone first, and then take someone else with you! Good lord girl, you scared Messieurs Hellier out of his mind, not to mention me!"

"I'm sorry." Cassie put her head in her hands, her wet hair hanging over her shoulders like heavy chains. "I'm sorry…" A warm hand was suddenly on her shoulder and she looked down into Mr. Villefort's concerned face as he knelt in front of her.

"Cassandra, I want you to know that I understand your fear. But you must also understand that we were VERY concerned about you. You can't just go running through the streets of Paris."

"I know."

"Now, go to your room and change out of those wet clothes. I don't want you catching cold before the Gala."

"Yes sir." Cassandra got up and went out the office door slowly. She shut the door quietly but not before hearing the adults on the other side talking. She held fast to the handle and listened at the crack.

"You're going to let her off like that?" Mr. Giles was shouting.

"Yes---she was terrified. I'm willing to make an exception for this."

"Two weeks ago you were accusing her of 'dallying' of all things, this week she flees the damn opera house and you're willing to let her off Scott free?

"Yes, I am. Horrace, you didn't see her up in that props loft….didn't see that—that thing!"

"Well, there better not be any more incidents, or she's gone Rick, we can't have her terrifying the rest of the cast."

"But if there's someone here…."

"No. There isn't anyone here and I won't have these rumors spreading through the cast." Cassandra left, not understanding why Mr. Giles didn't believe that the mystery man existed.


	21. Prep Time

Cassie continued to sleep in the rose room with all the mirrors covered with afghans. Though she was still terrified of the masked man, she knew she had to man up and finish this thing, no matter what. The night before the gala, Mr. Villefort came to her room.

"Cassandra, I was wondering if you were alright…."

"Yes, no problems since the last time." He laughed.

"I hope so, anyway, I just wanted to say goodnight and wish you luck tomorrow."

"You'll see me before the performance tomorrow, won't you?"

"It's a possibility, but just in case." Villefort bowed and then left the hallway. Ten minutes later Mia knocked at the door.

"Dude…." She burst through the door and launched herself on Cassie's bed. "I figured we'd chill tonight prior to the big gala tomorrow."

"I would expect nothing less." Cassie laughed flinging herself onto the bed beside Mia. They lay on the bed watching a movie on Mia's DVD player and then lay down on the floor looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you scared Cass?"

"A little."

"Of the mystery dude?"

"I don't know…"

"What're you scared of then?" Mia leaned up and looked down into her best friend's face.

"I don't know….I just have this feeling of absolute…anxiety."

"Yeah." Mia flopped back onto the lush oriental rug and sighed.

"So what's up with you and Matt?" Cassie asked trying to change the subject.

"We're fine. I'm so in love with him….but it scares me."

"Why?" It was Cassie's turn to sit up and look down into Mia's face.

"He's graduated Mia….I'm still in school. I don't want to hold him back. I don't want him to feel obligated to do something."

"You guys have almost gone all the way."

"Cassie, you sound more and more like Anne everyday."

"Fine, you want to hear it the old Cassie way? You two have nearly fucked each other….well, that's not right either cuz you two are into it way more than 'fucking.' You two are way into each other…you've almost made love, but you're too scared, and might I say smart, to let it go that far. You're head over heels. You just have to talk to him…I'll bet anything he feels the same way; scared, and yet so in love with you he doesn't know what to do."

"Maybe. But I'm not so sure….sometimes I see the way he looks at some of these Parisian chicks when we go out and I think 'wow, I can never match up to that.'"

Mia and Cassie talked long into the night and then snuggled down into the big bed.

"Just like old times." Mia sighed into the fluffy pillows.

"Always."

The next day they ran through the play from start to finish for what seemed like the billionth time. Then Mr. Giles gathered the cast around him and made announcements.

"The ladies will be going with Mrs. Giles to get their hair done down town. Gentlemen, we get the opera house to ourselves." Several of the guys whooped for joy at the prospect of not having to deal with scared chorus girls for the rest of the day. "Ladies, you will return to the opera house, we'll all eat dinner and then you can prepare yourselves for the gala."

"What about make-up?" Davette asked. "Won't someone be here to help us with that?"

"Well, I suppose someone might be able to help you when you go to the salon, but no, you'll be doing your make up alone….here." Davette pouted and sulked off down the hall to collect her purse for the outing to the Salon.

A large bus picked the girls up and departed the theater for the salon that had volunteered their services for the evening. The salon owner welcomed the girls to the salon and brought them sparkling cider and soda as they sat and waited for the hair dressers to come and choose them.

"Ah, mademoiselle….your hair! It's so long!" The girl said when she saw Cassie come through the door. "You must be Miss Davagé…I have heard so much about you already." Cassie shook the hand offered by the salon owner and followed her back immediately to a chair. "Do you have any ideas of what you want done?" The woman asked to Cassie's reflection as she ran her hands through Cassie's long silky hair.

"Not a clue." Cassie said smiling shyly. "I mean, usually if I get it done for a formal, we just put it up in a twist and curl it."

"Ah, but that is so ordinary….we shall do something very different, if you will allow me."

"You're the expert."

"Now, your dress….what color is it?"

"Black and white…"

"Very classic?"

"very." Cassie responded.

"I know EXACTLY what we'll do then."

"No dying it though…"

"Ah, no…..we cannot dye your hair. I wouldn't dream of it, it's such a lovely color." Cassie's hair was washed and dried slowly. The woman took large rollers and began to put Cassie's hair up. By the time she was finished Cassie's head felt heavy with the weight of the large plastic rollers.

"Hey Cassie, what'd she do? Use coke cans in your hair?" Mia laughed as she saw Cassie sitting beneath a heat setter.

"I don't know…..my neck can hardly hold my head up." Cassie giggled from under the dryer. "I can't wait until this is done." Mia's stylist came back and took Mia away speaking in rapid French to an absolutely clueless Mia. When Cassie went back to the chair, the mirror was covered and the chair was facing the aisle between booths.

"I want you to be surprised, ma cherie. You will kiss me when you see your hair!" Cassie closed her eyes and relaxed and let the woman pull and roll and unpin her hair and then re-pin it up. The air around Cassie's head was filled with the sound of hair dryers. She'd never been so happy to have an ipod since the small wire was out of the way of the stylist and Cassie could drown out the sound of the hair dryer. Finally Cassie was turned back towards the mirror and the sheet was pulled from it carefully.

Cassie's hair cascaded over her shoulders in large heavy curls. The left half was pulled up out of her face and pinned back with a large magnolia type flower. Cassie had never believed she'd be able to wear her hair down and have it look elegant. She stood up quickly and hugged the stylist.

"Oh my God…it's fantastic!" Cassie said. Mia came around the corner with her hair pulled back and twisted into an elegant up-do.

"Wow Cassie….you're gonna knock 'em dead tonight."

"Wow." Cassie said again. She hugged her stylist again and then went to wait on the other girls.

The dancers had their hair done in the same tight bun with jewels and flowers pinned in for their dance number that evening. Many of the singers had hair styles that were simple up-do's, like those worn at proms.

Cassie went back to the Opera house and sequestered herself in the rose room. None of the men were around….they'd gone down to an arcade down the street and were missing. Cassie sat down to her desk and began writing in her journal about all the things that had happened in the past few weeks. At three o'clock she began the process to finish getting ready. She painted her toes and nails and put her stockings on. Then she applied her make up. She outlined her eyes in eye liner and applied a little bit of eye color. She'd talked to the make up artist at the salon and asked some questions about what her make up should look like for the big night. Mia came down and the two of them sat down to the dinner that they'd arranged to have brought to the Rose room. Cassie finished applying a light sheen of lip gloss and then she and Mia zipped each other into their gowns.

"You two look stunning." Matt said when Mia and Cassie walked down the hall.

"Thanks hun." Mia said kissing him. Mia's bright green gown accented the green in her eyes and was a perfect contrast for her tan skin and dark curly hair. Matt was wearing a tuxedo as most of the boys would be for the evening.

"Where's Ryan?"

"He had to help Villefort with something out in the foyer."

"Oh." Cassie nodded, sort of disappointed that she wouldn't be escorted by Ryan.

"Well, shall we go out to the foyer and get ready for this shindig then?" Matt asked.

"Of course." Mia answered. Matt extended an arm to each of them and escorted them to the lower foyer where everyone was assembling to enter with the rest of the guests.

Mr. Giles made a series of announcements and told them all how the evening would go, the order of performances and how the evening would progress.

"Davette will be singing first, followed by Mia, Matt and Ryan. Cassie, you're going to be the fifth singing performance." Mr. Giles said. "Mark will follow you. You'll all be singing from the second level of the foyer."

"You mean we won't be on the stage?"

"No. That will wait for opening night. You have to remember the whole of the Opera house was refurbished so the Opera wants to keep some secrets."

Everyone understood how the evening would work and left to get ready for the performance. Cassie went to the stage area and went through her scales, warming her voice and preparing for her aria.

"Cassie?" Cassie spun and faced Mr. Villefort. "My…you look stunning this evening."

"Thank you very much Mr. VIllefort." Cassie smiled at the praise.

"Are you prepared?"

"I think so sir." She nodded.

"Very well then." Mr. Villefort reached out and brushed his hand over her arm. "You'll be fantastic." Cassie looked at the place where his hand touched her arm and then back into the blazing emerald eyes that had haunted her dreams when the ordeal had begun so long ago. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…." Mr. Villefort removed his hand from her arm and retreated towards the shadows.

"Thank you Mr. Villefort." Cassie called out. He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Thank you?"

"For letting me play Christine in the play. For letting us enter this contest. For everything." Mr. Villefort nodded and then retreated farther off stage and into the shadows away from the beautiful woman standing in the limelight.


	22. Gala Night

Cassie waited in the dancer's foyer and listened to the sounds of the people above moving about and talking.

"Davette you're needed upstairs." Davette pranced past Cassie and Mia, the smug look on her face radiating her pleasure at being the first to perform. Cassie and Mia slipped to the back of the dancer's foyer with Matt and snuck up the back passageway to where they could hear Davette sing better.

Davette walked out to a smatter of applause after a man spoke. She began singing her aria slowly. Cassie and Mia looked at each other and shrugged. It was under tempo to the piano accompaniment and she missed several notes completely. That was not normal for Davette under any circumstance. Mia and Matt raced back downstairs since they were next. Cassie thought about staying in the secret passage but decided against it with the mystery man possibly still prowling the theater.

Cassie stood in the entry way up to the second level and listened as Mia sang an Irish Ballad. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time. It made her wish that Ryan was standing beside her, holding her and promising her all the future.

Matt was next and as the applause came to an end for Mia he took his place on the opposite side of the foyer from where Mia had sung. Cassie could see as the people milling about the foyer turned to look at Matt as he sang something from an old German Opera.

Cassie was starting to feel nervous. Butterflies danced in her stomach and she felt faint. She saw Ryan ascend the stair case and then the beginnings of his song. It was an Irish Ballad just like Mia's had been. She smiled….it fit his voice as far as range was concerned, but did nothing for the power that she knew he had. Mark walked past her to go up to sing his number, a beautiful religious piece in Latin. He placed his hand gently on her arm and brought her gaze to meet his.

"You're next Cassandra. Take a deep breath and let's get up there." Cassie smiled a dazzling smile and went up so Ryan couldn't see her. She steeled her nerves….she could do this.

"Just a second Cassandra." Mr. Villefort came out and stopped her before she could enter the staging area. "Mr. Giles is going to make his speech now, you and Mark will sing after."

"Oh…OK." Mr. Villefort joined Mr. Giles on the rail and they made a very gracious speech, thanking the Young Actors association, the City of Paris, Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber and any one else they could think of.

"Of for goodness sakes….let us get out there and sing!" She heard Mark hiss as Mr. Giles went in to a story about rehearsals and how hard the students had worked. Cassie took a shaky breath and calmed herself once again.

"It is now my honor and esteemed privilege to present to you Miss Cassandra Davagé, our lead female singer!" There was quite a bit of applause from below and Cassandra went out onto the second level to get a good view of the entire foyer.

Waiters below were carrying silver trays with hors d'erves and Champaign flutes. There was a swirl of color amongst black as the men were in tuxedos and the women in fancy gowns. Cassandra looked out, longing to see a familiar face when her eyes centered on Ryan. He was talking to someone, it looked like Matt and Mia. Cassie smiled, he hadn't seen her yet, but she was going to love every moment of this.

The music started and her voice was as clear as a mountain stream. She trilled through her aria as if she were singing 'row row your boat.' At the end, when she'd hit the last piercing note the lower level of the foyer burst into applause. Mr. Villefort and Giles flanked Cassandra and together they bowed. Cassandra went quietly down the stairs as they introduced Mark to sing next.

"Cassie!" Cassie was half way down the stairs when Ryan sprinted part way up and stared at her. Her black dress accented a perfect hour glass figure, the white accent on the dress only adding to the provocative curves of her body. Her beautiful gold hair in it's heavy curls and the white magnolia in her hair made her look like a classic beauty.

"Hello Ryan." Cassie said grinning as she walked up to him. He stood baffled and absentmindedly held out his arm to her and escorted her down the stairs.

"I told you she looked beautiful Ryan." Matt said, his arm around Mia's waist.

"You think Carmen Electra's boobs are real." Ryan said picking up a flute of alcohol free champagne and handing it to Cassandra. Mia raised an eyebrow at Matt as he nearly snorted something out his nose.

"Nice Ryan…very gentlemanly."

"I'm sorry….I've been waiting to use that line on him for a while now." Cassie smiled and touched her head to his arm laughing. "You sang like an angel and look like a Goddess." He said bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

"Shh….." Mia admonished as Mark began to sing. Mark did very well, coughing slightly at the end of the piece. Everyone applauded. Mark looked down on the people gathered in the foyer as a king would have looked down on his subjects. He nodded his head politely to the crowd and then departed into the shadows.

"Cassandra…may I have the honor of this dance?" Ryan asked bowing low. Cassie nodded and Ryan whisked her over to the dance floor. "As I was saying earlier, before I was so rudely interrupted, you look fantastic tonight."

"So you've said." Cassandra said smiling up at him. "You sang beautifully tonight."

"Thank you." He twirled Cassie gracefully around the dance floor, his smile getting bigger with every turn they made.

"What's that big grin about?"

"Oh, it's only because I'm dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room and everyone is staring at me."

"Ha! You flatter yourself sir." Cassie said flirtatiously.

"You're right…they're all staring at the beautiful woman in my arms, totally ignoring me."

Mr. Giles walked through the crowd whispering to students…their faces lighting up. He approached the spot where Cassie, Mia, Matt and Ryan were talking quietly and placed his hands son the shoulders of the boys.

"You all did very well this evening." He said with a grin. "And you ladies, you look superb."

"Thank You Mr. Giles." The girls smiled at the praise.

"I just came to tell you that you may sing your contemporary pieces any time you like."

Cassie had nearly forgotten. They'd all been told days ago that if they wanted, they would have the opportunity to sing something of their choice for fun during the gala. It was their chance to showcase talents…their last night to have fun before performances started the next evening.

"Have fun this evening….enjoy it! This is your night!" Mr. Giles said smiling as he disappeared amongst the rich and famous of Paris and the theater world.

Most everyone had decided on three songs and several were doing duets. The lesser cast members went first, alternating amongst themselves. At the end, they all got together and sang a series of songs in French as a choir. Cassie and Ryan mingled together and spoke with many of the theater representatives there, and were offered many spots in productions.

"Ryan, you wanna go now?" Matt asked as Ryan and Cassie stood talking quietly beside a pillar.

"They're plotting something Cassie. I don't trust them." Mia said coming up beside her friend.

"I know they are."

"Us? I'm scandalized….insulted even."

"Oh, just go sing." Mia admonished as Matt and Ryan sidled through the crowd.

"So what do you think they've got planned?" Cassie asked as they watched the two boys go up to the second level.

"I have no clue, but it can't be good." Mia said as she watched the piano player get up from his spot and leave. "They're liable to break into Queen or The Rolling Stones or something." The foyer of the auditorium was filled with the music of a small orchestral group and everyone looked around to see where it might be coming from.

Ryan was standing up on the railing looking down at the crowd. Matt suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the foyer. Mia suddenly grabbed Cassie's arm.

"Dude, that's…"

"Josh Groban…I know." Cassie said smiling, recognizing the tune of the song _"Remember When it Rained"._ Matt sang the first verse and then Ryan the second. Cassie had tears in her eyes as the song moved into a powerful movement. Ryan sang out, his voice exploding perfectly from his chest. It took Cassie's breath away, Mia had tears in her eyes.

The foyer was silent for only a moment when the song ended, it soon exploded in a thunderous applause from everyone present. Ryan and Matt came down the great staircase and went right to where Mia and Cassie were still standing. Matt took Mia one direction while Ryan led Cassie to a pillar in the shadows.

"That was spectacular….my knees are weak." Cassie said as she and Ryan skirted behind the big column. Ryan looked about furtively and then bent his head to kiss her.

"So you like Josh Groban then?" He asked when they'd broken the kiss.

"I like you singing Josh Groban…." Cassie smiled kissing him again. "My God Ryan, that was absolutely incredible!"

"So what are you and Mia singing?"

"Nothing now….you just killed everyone's hopes of singing tonight." One last kiss between the two of them and they were back on the dance floor.

"So you two were going to get up there and sing 'Hard Knock Life' eh?"

"We most certainly were not." Cassie said indignantly. "That was a one time performance."

"So what ARE you going to sing?" Ryan asked spinning her out away from him. She grinned, catlike.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

The dance music stopped again and Mark sang two of his songs; his only two as everyone found out. They were both from older operas, and beautifully done. Many people commented on the Classic value the young man's voice carried.

Mia and Cassie stood to one side as the boys were engaged in conversation with a Frenchmen interested in how they learned to sing.

"Should I go now and get it over with?" Mia was going to sing from Evita and Les Miserables. She and Cassandra had prepared a minor duet of Gershwin but were questioning that performance now.

"Well, you go do your two solos, then I'll come up, we'll do the Gershwin bit, and then I'll sing my solos."

"Are you sure we should do the duet?"

"The show must go on." Cassie said smiling to herself.

Mia ascended the stairs and began to sing "Don't cry for Me, Argentina". It wasn't the best song for her, but it was a challenge and she did well at it. Next she sang 'On My Own' from Les MIserables. It was a song that had become Mia's anthem during school. Cassie had tears in her eyes as she realized that during the next school year Mia truly would be on her own….Cassie had moved on, and Matt would be moving on as well.

"And I know it's only in my mind! That I'm talking to myself and not to him…."

Cassie went up beside Matt and pressed her hand into his. When he looked down at her he had tears in his eyes as well.

"Cassie…."

"Quiet Matt….just listen."

"I love him….If only on my own…."

Even though the song ended on a very quiet note there was still an incredible amount of passion, energy and, Cassie thought, pain, radiating from the last note.

"Talk to her when she comes down….she loves you Matt."

"I love her too, Cassie." Matt had to shout over the sounds of the crowd's applause.

"I have to go….I'll be down in a bit." Cassie raced through the crowd and up to where Mia stood staring down, her face radiant. Cassie touched Mia's shoulder and the two girls embraced tightly.

"That was incredible Mia….absolutely incredible!" Cassie said in her ear.

"Was he listening? Did he understand? I know you did…but did he?"

"I think so…I really do." Mia and Cassie looked down to where Matt stood with eyes only for Mia. He blew her a kiss…Mia's face lit up and turned very red…she hoped no one saw the gesture. "Let's do it Mia…for old time's sake."

Cassie and Mia had worked and choreographed the whole duet. They were singing 'Who could Ask for Anything More." Cassie and an older girl had done it during the review two years before….now it was Mia and Cassie.

Several people whooped when they heard the opening piano piece. Halfway through the song though, they broke into French.

"Le vieil ennui d'Homme, je ne l'ai pas des objections. ..you ne le verra pas que pendant, autour de ma porte !" (Old Man Trouble…I don't mind him. You won't see him hanging, Around my Door."

It had been difficult to work the French out to the melody, but Cassie and Mia delivered it effortlessly.

In the end Mia took the French and Cassie the English. Their voices blending, the low notes to Mia and Cassie hitting an incredible clear high note.

"Qui pourrait demander n'importe quoi plus ?"

"Who could ask for anything more?"

The room burst into applause, the Parisians loving the fact that these two young ladies had taken so much time to translate a song into their tongue. The two girls embraced tightly and Mia descended down to Matt. Cassie watched from the rail as they went off into crowd to talk.

Cassie smiled down at the crowd and picked Ryan out.

Her first song was an old fashioned Jazz number that Mr. Giles had helped her pick out. Even though she was singing something classically now, Cassie loved Broadway style music more. It fit her personality and Mr. Giles had understood that. People applauded politely…not everyone was a huge Jazz fan.

Cassie nodded to the piano player who got up and went back to the stereo system the boys had used for their Josh Groban number. The music that came out of it made Cassie smile. She looked down and found Ryan staring up at her, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

"Empty spaces-what are we living for? Abandoned places- I guess we know the score! On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for?" Cassie heard someone shout and cheer for her as she continued with the song.

"The show must go on, The show must go on…" Cassie glanced down at the crowd from where she'd been looking at the opposite wall and saw a man dressed in red velvet standing below. She almost missed the note.

"My make up may be flaking but my smile still stays on."

She searched for Ryan or Mr. Villefort or Mr. Giles but could find none of them in the crowd below. When she looked back for the man in red, he was no where to be found.

"Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance, another heartache, another failed romance…" Cassie was terrified; was she going crazy? She made it to the end of the song. "I'll top the bill, I'll overkill, I have to find the will to carry on with the on with the on with the show!"

"Cassandra!" Cassie looked down to the shout, it had come from Mark. She looked beside her and saw the man in red jump from the shadows. Several people screamed as the man lurched forward and grabbed her.

"The show must NOT go on!" He shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. No one could see his face, it was covered by beard and a mask. "You can not go on with this…the show must not go on!"

"Why not? Why can't the show go on?" Cassandra asked. She saw Mr. Giles and Villefort racing up the stairs to corner the man. "Who are you?"

"Because of him….because of him and what he'll do to you….you must not go on with the show…"

"Him who?" But Cassandra never got the answer to her question. Mr. Villefort cuffed the man hard behind the head and he crumpled to the floor taking Cassandra with him.

"Not to worry ladies and gentlemen, please…." Mr. Giles announced as Mr. Villefort helped Cassandra up from the floor and whisked her towards the back wall and out of the line of sight of everyone in the foyer.

"Cassandra, are you alright, did he hurt you at all?" Mr. Villefort asked, concern etched deeply into his face.

"No sir.' Cassie looked back at the man on the floor. His clothes were shabby, like he'd stolen them from the costume loft rag pile, his chest rose and fell softly…she knew he wasn't dead. "I'm fine…..he just said I can't go on with the show…." Ryan was up the stairs and beside her in a minute.

"Mr. Alexander, take Miss Davagé to her dressing room. Have Mr. Howard go to the Office and call the police."

"Yes Sir."


	23. The Night Before

Cassandra went into her room and sat heavily in the big comfy chair. Her night had been going so well, why had that man said what he did? Why did he have to ruin everything?

"Cass?" Cassie looked up at Ryan who was just coming in and locking the door behind him. "Are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah…He didn't want to hurt me." Her hands shook slightly and she had to clasp them in her lap to keep Ryan from noticing.

"How can you be so sure? He looked like he was going to throw you over the edge."

"No he wasn't…he was going to tell me something….he never got the chance Villefort knocked him out."

"What are you saying Cass?"

"I don't know any more…I just don't know." Cassie leaned back and closed her eyes…she was so tired of all of this…the drama, the fear. When she opened her eyes again Ryan was kneeling at her feet and staring intently at her.

"What can I do to help, Cass?" He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it gently. "Just tell me and I'll do it." Cassie touched his face with her palm and smiled at him.

"You're so sweet…really…" He grinned.

"Aw…shucks…" He said blushing.

"Will you sing to me?"

"What would the lady care to hear?"

"I don't know, something soft….something soothing."

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one!" Ryan stood and broke into song causing Cassandra to laugh uproariously.

"No no no! Not at all!" Ryan sat on the sofa and motioned for Cassandra to join him, which she did quite willingly. He wrapped her in his arms and lay back.

"Something soft and soothing, eh?" Cassie nodded her head against his shoulder as he brushed her hair back off her face.

_Ten minutes ago, I saw you I looked up when you came through the door my head started reeling you gave me the feeling the room had no ceiling or floor. Ten minutes ago, I met you, and we murmured our how do you dos I wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms and sing out the news. I have found her, she's an angel, with the dust of the stars in her eyes. We are dancing, we are flying, and she's taking me back to the skies! In the arms of my love, I'm flying, over mountain and meadow and glen. And I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again. I may never come down to earth again._

It was from _Cinderella_, the stage version. Cassie closed her eyes and listened as Ryan sang. He always had a song for her.

Ryan hummed through the chorus and looked down at Cassandra who had fallen asleep in his arms. He lay with her, unwilling to disturb her after the ordeal of the day. There was a quiet knock at the door and Ryan carefully extricated himself from the couch and went to answer it.

"Mr. Alexander, is Miss Davagé well?"

"I think so Mr. Villefort, she's just gone to sleep, she didn't want to be left alone."

"Miss Cartwright will stay with her. I need to see you in the office." Mia ducked into the room and looked at Ryan questioning him silently. He shot her a pointed look and left with Villefort, their dress shoes clicking softly on the hard floors. Mia sat on the big bed and waited an hour until Ryan came back.

"I had to give a witness report….is she…"

"Still asleep…Do they need to talk to Cass?" Mia looked over at the couch where Cassie still lay curled up, the golden curls of her hair spilling over the edge of the couch. She looked like an angel.

"No, they're going to come back to talk to her tomorrow morning….they think she's been through enough already."

"She didn't really need someone to stay with her, did she?"

"No, but it was the best cover story for Villefort." Ryan said running his hand through his hair. "That man does not like me….he doubly hates me when I'm with Cass."

"I see. Well, I know I'm the callous friend, but I'm going back to the gala. It's starting to wind down, a lot of people were freaked out by what happened."

"Thanks Mia." Mia was almost to the door when she turned around and strode back to where Ryan was standing beside the couch staring down at Cassandra. Mia grasped the lapel of his tuxedo and pulled him down so he was looking into her eyes. "If you hurt her, even a little bit, don't you dare put it past me not to kick your ass and hide the body so no one will find it."

"Mia, I would never hurt her, I swear to you."

"Good boy." She patted his lapel smooth and flounced out of the room. Ryan took off his tuxedo jacket and lay it carefully on the chair. Then he went to the door and listened…no one was in the hall. He looked back at the peacefully sleeping form of Cassie. He couldn't help but look at her. Her skin was a beautiful rosy peach color, her golden hair spilled over the scarlet velvet upholstery, the black and white satin dress accented her natural curves. His eyes were drawn to the smooth, perfect curve of her neck and down over her collar bone to the gentle swell of her breasts as they rose and fell with her soft breathing. She was flawless…he smiled knowing that she was his.

Ryan went back to the big chair and propped his feet up on the arm of the chair, his head on the other and continued to watch her sleep, feeling only a little despicable as he did so.

Cassie awoke slowly. She felt a little uncomfortable and looked at her surroundings. She was on the couch in the rose room, but couldn't really remember why. She looked at the chair opposite her and saw Ryan stretched across it. She smiled…he was so handsome. His shirt was unbuttoned slightly and his left shoe hung precariously from his foot where he'd untied it, but had unsuccessfully gotten it off his foot. She sat up slowly and went to take his shoes off for him. She then pulled the afghan off the back of the couch and draped it over him. His eyes opened as she tucked the blanket around his shoulder.

"Sorry." He grinned up at her as he looked around. "I must have dozed off."

"No problem." Cassie stretched and walked to the opposite side of the room. "I can't believe I slept on that couch….how long have I been out?"

"I don't know…I don't even know how long I've been out." He looked up over the back of the chair to where Cassandra was trying to reach the zipper on the back of her dress. "Need some help with that?" She looked over her shoulder and nodded. It was possibly the sexiest thing Ryan had ever seen. She'd gone from Angel to Goddess in the matter of moments. He stood up and threw the blanket onto the couch. His fingers undid the hook and eye at the back of her dress and slowly slid the zipper down. He couldn't help but run his knuckle all the way down her spine. She breathed deeply as he did so, relishing his touch as she always did. He kissed the nape of her neck softly and breathed deeply of her perfume. His hands ran back up over her shoulders as she gently leaned back into him. He kissed further across her collar bone as he began to slide her dress of her shoulders.

"If you don't stop, I don't know that I will stop you." She sighed as he captured her lips with his own as he spun her around.

"I will not sleep with you." Ryan said, his lips close to hers. She opened her eyes and looked at him, slight confusion creasing her brow. "Not before the performance anyway." Cassie leaned back in his arms.

"What?"

"Call it superstition, but I fear that if I sleep with you I will destroy your gift...your voice."

"Ryan that's…"

"It's not crazy…it's an old story my Gram used to tell me. God help me it just popped into my head…..she used to say 'Go with you gut' too, so I am." Cassie leaned up and kissed him sliding her tongue across his. "Although, if you keep that up, I'm going to find it damn hard to follow my gut."

"You're such a gentleman." Cassie said as she backed away and went to her small closet. "A dork, but a gentleman none the less. I'll be right out." She was back out in five minutes, her hair still done; wearing short shorts and the gray t-shirt she'd worn when they'd slept together at the hotel. She walked towards where he'd taken a seat on the bed and had unknotted his tie. She stood between his knees and touched his face gently. She loved the smell of him, his slightly unkempt look with his tie undone and his shirt sleeves rolled up made him irresistible. His hands naturally found their way to her hips and he gently brushed his fingertips across the skin at the waist band of her shorts as she initiated the kiss. She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders and moved to unbutton his shirt.

"Cassie…"

"Shh….we don't have to sleep together…" She recaptured his lips with her own as she continued to remove his shirt. "But I want you to stay here tonight, and I want to feel your hands on me." Ryan's hand clasped behind her back and he pulled her into him forcefully taking control of the situation. His hands slipped up behind her beneath her shirt and danced over the smooth lines of her back. He kissed down across her jaw and over her throat.

"No marks….Villefort would kill us."

"Don't mention his name….it's just us tonight." Ryan answered breathlessly as he quickly turned Cassie and pinned her to the bed taking the place she'd formerly been standing in. Cassie's taught body stretched beneath him trying to get in contact with every possible inch of his body. She could feel how hard he was…she knew he wanted her as bad as she wanted him, but knew his self control was too great. His hands touched all the sensitive spots on her body, his lips never left her and he gently ground his hips into her hips. She reveled in the feelings he generated in her body. He slowly pulled her t-shirt up over her head, his lips following it up and kissing every inch of flesh he exposed. She was in heaven….this was where she belonged.

When Cassandra woke the next morning, she was curled beside Ryan. They'd kicked the heavy comforter off the bed and were now covered in only a sheet. Ryan's arm lay heavy across her waist, heavy and comfortable. She closed her eyes and crept closer to him, as if that could have been anymore possible. Ryan's arms tightened around her as she did so and he kissed the top of her head without opening his eyes.

"Don't move, don't wake up…..I don't want to find this was all a dream." He said softly. She did as he asked because she didn't want to find it was all a dream too.

Ryan snuck out of Cassie's room and back to his own and the two met with a tired looking Mia and Matt before breakfast.

"Hmm…If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were up to the same thing we were." Ryan said sitting across from Matt and smirking at Cassie. Mia coughed, choking on piece of bagel she'd been chewing on.

"I hope not…..I'm thinking they're a bit beyond that." Cassie said casually. It was Matt's turn to cough.

"Do you tell her everything?" He asked as Mia laughed and tried to regain composure.

"No…of course not."

"Students….I need your attention please!" Mr. Giles shouted. "Today is opening day….your first performance will be this evening at eight o'clock. No one is to go anywhere near the stage today. Make-up and costuming schedules are posted on the wall outside the cafeteria…be prompt and don't dawdle." He droned on and on about what had happened at the gala the night before but tactfully avoided the subject of the mystery man.

Several students found their way to dark corners of the opera house. To find solace and peace before the performance was hard to do in an opera house with so many people, but the place was constructed so it offered numerous hidden places for anyone who looked for them. Occasionally a random scale would sound throughout the opera house. Cassie went back to her room after breakfast and lay on her bed listening to the soundtrack from Rent. Anything to keep her mind off Phantom. A knock on the wall between rooms signaled Ryan's entrance.

"So the guy they arrested last night just woke up…apparently Mr.V is stronger than we all thought…really cuffed the guy a good one."

"And?"

"He says he's lived in the Opera house for years using the secret tunnels, and that he wasn't trying to scare us, but warn us."

"Rut Ro Shaggy…"

"yeah, it does seem a bit odd, doesn't it?"

"But what is he trying to warn us of?" Cassie asked.

"He never said, wouldn't give the inspectors a cogent answer."

Ryan and Cassie relaxed all day and then at two thirty Ryan's watch went off.

"Well, I got make up." He said standing. "Mark's just going in now…"

"Poor thing…he's got to sit all day in that stuff."

"Yeah…at least it's better quality than the putty we used in the performance at school."

Cassie shrugged. Ryan left and Mia came to get Cassie shortly after.

"Corset time…you ready?"

"No." Cassie said firmly sitting on the floor by her bed. "If I lace into a corset now, I'm going to puke."

"No you aren't." Mia admonished dragging Cassie along the corridors to eat something and then up to costuming.

"Stop for a minute….I feel nauseous." Cassie said as the costume mistress tightened the laces.

"Too Tight?"

"No….just nerves." Cassie looked at herself in the mirror….she was green around the gills…the only natural color coming from the make up she wore. "Can I go get some air real quick before you finish?"

"Sure sweetie." Cassie left the room. Davette laughed as Cassie brushed past, still tying the sash on her dressing robe.

"Well, we all knew you'd fall down when it came to the big one…" Davette laughed as she walked away from Cassandra. Cassie shook her head, muttered an oath beneath her breath and went out and sat in the plush velvet seats of the opera house. She sighed heavily and tried to calm herself but to no avail.

"Cassie, why are you here? Davette said you looked ill."

"Oh…I'm just nervous….and a little light headed…that's all." Cassie covered as Villefort sat beside her.

"I'm nervous too."

"Over what? You aren't performing." Cassie said incredulously. This man could lurk in the shadows and lay all blame on the students….he didn't have to accept anything…he had nothing to be nervous about.

"I'm terrified all of Paris will be here to see this. This is a bigger production than any I've ever been a part of." He looked at the stage where the techies were working on a set of lights. "It's as if, one moment I'm flying because I'm so filled with joy that we're performing here. This is the chance of a life time." Villefort's eyes glimmered in the pale house lights. "But then I feel as if I'm slipping backwards into something dark because there are so many things that could go wrong." He turned to look at Cassie, his green eyes seeming black. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes." Cassie breathed. He'd voiced her thoughts exactly. "Mr. Villefort, what if something _does_ go wrong?"

"Then we try again!" He clasped her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. "We perform here for a week before the real company comes in. We'll have a week to get everything into perfection. You know I'll settle for nothing less." Villefort's crooked grin flashed as he got up, pulling Cassandra with him."Come, you must finish changing." Villefortbrushed his thumb over the back of her handand walked with Cassandra back to where everyone was getting laced into corsets for the performance. "Sing well, Cassandra. You know deep in your heart this is nothing."

"Thank you Mr. V." He bowed away from the door and into the shadows of the opera house.

Cassie was ready. With her head held high and her hand tingling from where he'd been stroking it, she marched into the room and prepared for _her_ show.


	24. Tension

The cast gathered off one of the wings and listened as Colleen led a brief prayer and everyone asked for one thing in the performance. The tech crew asked for a blessing of the riggings and safe travels through the cat walks, the dancers asked for solid footing and good turns, Davette asked for good reviews. Everyone had a hope and asked that it was fulfilled. Cassandra waved to Ryan as the performers took their places on the stage for the first time in front of an audience.

Everyone giggled slightly when everyone in the audience gasped as the shrouds on the stage went up for the first time. This was the first anyone had seen the newly refurbished stage, the gilt shimmered in the lights and the big chandelier was hoisted high above the audience sending light onto the newly cleaned and gilted cherubs and angels. It was indeed a beautiful sight.

"We'll knock them dead…they'll remember that and not us." Matt said smiling as he stood beside Cassandra. "Let's do this, eh Cassie?" Cassandra nodded as Matt took the Parisian stage for the first time as Piangi. Cassie's turns were flawless, her body moving lithely across the stage with the rest of the dancers. When it was time for 'Think of Me' she sang it strongly and proudly. She glanced to the wings and saw Mr. Villefort looking back at her, green eyes burning, a shadow of a smile on his face. During 'All I Ask of You' she couldn't help but glance over Ryan's shoulder to see where Villefort was. She wanted to talk to him as soon as the curtain came down. Mark, crouched above them on the angel coughed once and got snagged as he tried to rise up and sing the reprise, but other than act the first act was flawless. Cassandra was quickly shoved into the gown for the end of the act and stepped out of the curtain into the footlights just in time to see the Chandelier swinging. She could hear Mark's line, but was concentrating on the fixture above her. From the time he said 'Go' she had exactly four seconds. Ryan had six seconds to run from stage left, grab her and whisk her out of the way just in time.

It came off without a hitch and looked so natural several people in the audience screamed, thinking that something terribly wrong had happened. Cassie wrapped her arms around Ryan and smiled at him as they disappeared off stage.

"This is going fantastically!" Cassandra said excitedly and pressed a quick kiss to Ryan's cheek.

"You're spectacular out there. We're all knocking them dead!" They raced to get into their costumes for the second act. Cassandra went to look for Mr. Villefort. She found him down a dark corridor beneath the costume loft.

"Mr. V!" He turned and grinned at her. "They're loving it! Isn't it spectacular?"

"Yes….you're doing marvelously out there." He said as he stepped forward and grasped her hands in his. "I knew you could do it." He pushed a strand of hair back off her face, his fingertips lingering a bit longer than necessary. "You should get back to the stage and prepare yourself. Go on!" He watched her grin and rise up on tip toe to press a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you so much for your confidence in me...in all of us!" She turned away and dashed up the corridorbefore he disappeared into the shadows. Cassie arrived at the stage to take her spot with Ryan for the big dance scene in 'Masquerade.'

Ryan held tightly to her waist and they moved through the steps effortlessly. The movements had become second nature to them, almost like breathing. Everything came off smoothly and at curtain call at the end, Ryan, Cassie and Mark received a long and loud standing ovation. Cassie was handed a large bouquet of roses and waved at the crowd who adored her.

Back stage there was a huge celebration. Everyone was so excited that their performance had been a hit. There were reporters and pictures taken, both by professional photographers and by cast members.

"I can't believe it…I can't believe we did it!" Mia said as she bounced excitedly in front of Cassandra. "You were so awesome!"

"Ladies, a picture please!" Cassie and Mia turned quickly and smiled at the Photographer who took their picture. They were still in their costumes from the final act, Cassie in her white dress, Mia in trousers and flowing blouse. All of the cast was still in costume and the backstage area looked like a Halloween costume party. Ryan came up behind them after the photographer left and they talked excitedly about the performance.

"Just think, this was just opening night….the other nights are going to be phenomenal." Matt and Mark joined them soon after and with that the flashbulbs wouldn't stop. Davette was no where to be seen and Matt excused himself after a few minutes of reporters and photographers complaining of a head ache. Cassandra excused herself from the throng of reporters and went to get out of the heavy wedding dress. After getting changed she went to take a shower and fell gratefully into bed.

"Cassie! Wake up!" Cassandra sat up and went to the door and swung it open to find Matt and Mia standing there.

"What? I'm tired…I want to sleep." Though she'd gone right to sleep after her shower she felt ill rested and cranky.

"Reviews are in and everyone is gathering in the cafeteria. Mr. Giles is going to read them to everyone." Cassie's lethargy left her bodyquickly and shegrabbed a hoodie off the sofa and ran out the door of her dressing room to the dining hall where everyone else had gathered. It was ten o'clock, but after the late night everyone had had, most people were only just getting out of bed. Ryan put his arm around Cassandra as she sat down on the bench next to him.

"Ladies and Gentleman, please!" The students quieted down slowly and looked expectantly at Mr. Giles. "Students, you did exceptionally well last night. I'm very proud of all of you." Everyone burst into applause and cheered. "Now listen…the review is out in the paper, and I'd very much like to be the one to relay the information to you." There was a long pause. "However, it's in French and my French is horrible. So Mr. Villefort will read it to you." Mr. Villefort climbed up onto one of the tables. He looked stunning that morning. For the first time in a long time, Cassandra saw Mr. Villefort not as the tyrannical dictator and director, but as a human being. She saw in him what she'd seen the first day of classes; a remarkably handsome man. The tight, charcoal gray t-shirt he wore revealed a well muscled body, his hair, slightly disheveled brushed away from his face and his green eyes glimmered in the fluorescent lighting. His skin had taken on a healthy tan from the days walking in the Paris sunshine, his smile as he began reading was warm.

_If only he weren't a former teacher…._

The thought danced across her brain before she could stop it. She looked uneasily at Ryan and stiffened, shocked that such a thing could even dare to force its way into her head.

"The sets are amazing and flawlessly moved about the stage. Ninety percent of what's used in the production was brought over by the students and used in their high school production." The Techies cheered and beat the tables they were sitting at. "The dance troop, captained by Madame Giles would be welcome at any dance school. She is indeed a talented instructor and her students should be commended on achieving such a form, even if some of them are not classically trained dancers, they give the illusion of being such." The dancers squealed in the corner where they were sitting, forcing Mr. Villefort to stop reading. "The costumes are fantastically rendered and play perfectly to the performance. However, it is the vocal talent of the performers which makes this performance tre magnifique."

"Man, my mom got half a line? That's not going to piss her off…." One younger boy said shaking his head. His mother had done a lot of work on the costumes in the states and it was rather disappointing that she only got half a line. Mr. Villefort pretended not to hear.

"Matt Andrews, performing as Piangi carries himself well and has an intonation and color most young men his age couldn't dream of achieving. Amelia Cartwright of Texas sings a lovely alto for the little dancer Meg. Her movements are graceful and poised, the young woman, still in High School in America, will do many great things with her career and go far. Do not be surprised when, in five or six years Miss Cartwright is the leading lady in a big city production." Mia glowed with the praise. "Davette Owens, playing the role of the Diva, Carlotta Guidicelli, did a phenomenal job. Her tonal color lags on some of her songs, but her work on getting the accents and mannerisms of the diva down is clearly evident." Davette looked shocked. "We'll work on that Davette." Mr. Villefort said before continuing on. "Ryan Alexander is a talented and handsome young man. His voice is superb and the passion for which he sings with Cassandra Davagé, who we will discuss later, is evident to all in attendance. This is another man who will do great things if he pursues a performing career. Mark Howard, playing the phantom, is astounding. For a man of such a young age to have a voice developed so is nothing less than a miracle. At the gala performance the evening before he was spectacular, but to see him in the role of the phantom, was nothing less than a magic moment. Mr. Howard made it seem effortless to perform the physically and vocally demanding role of the phantom."

Everyone cheered as Mark beamed shyly to himself. He nodded graciously at the applause and shouts he received.

"What about Cassandra?" Someone shouted. Everyone grew quiet as Mr. Villefort cleared his throat.

"Where was I? Oh yes…..Mr. Howard made it seem effortless to perform the physically and vocally demanding role of the phantom. However, it is Miss Cassandra Davagé who stole the stage yester evening with her spectacular performance as Christine Daaé. The young woman no doubt turns heads where ever she goes, her beauty is stunning and the poise with which she carries herself is incredible for a woman so young. However, her voice, like that of an angel, is enough to take the breath away. So strong and yet sweet, the range this young woman has is incredible. She is a gift from God placed unto this earth to show us mere mortals what true beauty really is."

"That's my girl." Ryan whispered. He hugged her tightly as everyone cheered again. Cassie smiled uncomfortably and indulged the cheers that congratulations that poured across the cafeteria.

"The Phantom of the Opera, performed by the American actors of the St. Marks and St. Isabel's School's is a five star production, and highly worth going to as it is worthy of London, Broadway, Paris or Amsterdam. This author can wholly not wait to see where these young people find themselves in the next few years." Mr. Villefort finished as the room exploded around him. Everyone was in high spirits all day and took everything at their leisure.

Just before it was time for everyone to take their places and get in their final costumes Cassie excused herself from the crowd and congratulations and went up to the roof top. She inhaled the warm summer air and looked out over the city. The sky was tinged a warm summer pink, the sun a great fluorescent disk just sinking below the horizon, casting the city in a blue black shadow. A soft breeze blew Cassie's hair back from her face as she stepped towards the edge of the statue and looked out over the courtyard below where people mingled before being allowed to enter the theater.

"Cassandra?" Cassie stepped back from the edge and turned to see Mr. Villefort hurrying through the door. "Cassandra, what are you doing up here?"

"I just needed some fresh air…."

"A beautiful sight…" Mr. Villefort said joining her beside the statue. "Makes you wish to never leave."

"Hmm…Yes." Cassie sighed as the wind blew through her hair again picking it up off her shoulders. Her dressing gown slipped off her shoulder and Cassie was slow to pull it back up into place.

"Are you nervous about something?"

"A little…after all that hype from the paper….how can I possibly live up to it all?"

"You will because you are a star. You have a fabulous voice. Do you think I would have allowed you to play the part if I didn't think you capable?"

"No."

"Then you can do it…you will be spectacular." Mr. Villefort placed a re-assuring hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "Do not worry, you'll do great out there, as you've done every night." Cassandra smiled and they returned inside. When Cassie was finished dressing Ryan found her in the corridor just over the stage.

"Where'd you go?"

"I was up on the roof. I just needed some fresh air."

"I saw Villefort come back too, did he hurt you?"

"Heaven's no….whatever would give you that idea?" Ryan pulled Cassie down into a dark alcove and looked deep into her eyes.

"Because I don't trust him. He's not right Cass…."

"Oh you're over reacting." Cassie said laughing. "He's my instructor, Ryan. He came up to find me and brought me back to finish dressing. Yes, he's seemed questionable and creepy at times but that's just stress...we've all been under a lot of it."

"Is there anything between you two?"

"Ryan!" Cassie looked into his eyes and realized he was quite serious. "This is absurd. There's nothing between us." She reached up and touched his cheek. "I'm serious…NOTHING between Mr. Villefort and I."

"Places people!" Ryan and Cassie moved into the wings to take their places for night two of their performance.

Ryan seemed distant to Cassie the rest of the performance. Even when they kissed at the end of Act I he seemed tense. After she'd changed for Masquerade, she went in search of Ryan. He was in his room buttoning the last of the buttons on his soldier's jacket.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, why are you so distant? I mean, it isn't about V, is it?" Cassie came closer as he struggled to get the last button through the hole. He sighed and dropped his hands and allowed her to help him. "It is, isn't it."

"I've seen the looks he gives you…recently you've been giving him similar looks."

"Looks like what?"

"Like you admire him, like you wish you could be closer to him."

"I didn't think I was looking at him like _that_….I do admire him though." She said quietly as she raised her eyes to meet his. "He's an incredible talent Ryan….how can I not admire him? He put me where I am!" She grasped his arm and implored him to look at her. "I admire him, but I love you." Ryan nodded and smiled at her, but still seemed distant throughout the performance. Cassandra sighed. He was feeling the pangs of jealousy and it would take him time to get over it.

Cassandra returned to the rooftop that night to stare out on the sleeping city. She was thinking about what Ryan had said to her in the dressing room between the acts. She couldn't possibly be falling in love with VIllefort. He was a teacher, he had given her the creeps, nearly worked her to death and had driven her restlessly to where she stood today; a Parisian stage. She sat at the foot of the great Apollo statue and looked down to the cobbles below and then up to the sky above wondering if what she was feeling this moment was a growing infatuation for the man who had once terrified her.

Crouched at the base of the statue, she was barely visible. Her golden hair was tinged a silver blue in the pale light of the moon, the only light present as the great flood lights had been turned off. The wind played through her hair as she sat in the moonlight. Her skin, flawless in the daylight, was like cream under the moon, her eyes dark and lustrous. She was an angel sitting at the feet of angels. She rose slowly from her spot at the foot of Apollo and went back to the dark rectangle that was the door back to the Opera house. She took one last longing look at the moon before disappearing back into the interior.

"Oh, my Angel…you shall never have to look longingly at the moonlight….I shall make you Queen of this night and all nights to come." The other figure on the roof faded back into the darker shadows of the roof and disappeared.


	25. Dream Lover

"_There are just three more nights of performances." _Cassandra told herself before taking the stage.

Cassandra was exhausted after that evening's performance. She fell into bed but found sleep elusive, tossing and turning in an attempt to find a comfortable position. She rose wearily and wrapped the chenille afghan around her before going out to the corridor. Everything was quiet, everyone was in bed. She padded softly to the kitchen and got some tea to drink. She nearly burned her tongue and lips on it and had to get some ice for it, grumbling as she did so that she would never get to sleep at this rate. She brought a small bowl full of ice chips back to the table where her steaming cup of tea sat. Cassie absentmindedly dropped ice cubes into it and drank slowly as she read over the day old headlines in the French paper that had been left on the table by one of the techies. She tasted the sweet flavor of almonds, or vanilla and looked into the mug disgustedly. Whoever had used the mug before her hadn't washed it well. It wasn't an altogether unpleasant taste though. She got up when she was finished and washed the cup thoroughly before returning to her room. When she got back she quickly locked the door and went to her bed. The tea had done more than she had thought as she was thoroughly prepared to let sleep overtake her. She didn't even pull the sheets up over her when she fell into a deep sleep.

It was dark and everything swam around her dizzyingly, as if she had drank too much liquor. She was not in the rose room, that much she could see and she staggered from the bed she found herself on and into the faint yellow glow of the exterior room. She fell to her knees at the top of a short flight of stairs. The room she looked down on was more lair than anything else. Papers, molded and cracked with age lay scattered all over. The writing was much too tiny and faded for her to concentrate on in her seemingly inebriated state. There were candelabras everywhere, most only half lit, bathing the room in shadows and haze. At the far side of the dark room she could see herself reflected a dozen times over in a broken mirror. Someone said her name and she clasped her hands over her ears as the sound seemed foreign and unnaturally loud. She could not tolerate the view of herself reflected time and time again in the spider web of the mirror's cracks. She felt a hand on her shoulder gently and she turned her face up slowly and looked for the source of the hand. She realized the person must be behind her and she craned her neck around to see who was there. She never got the chance to see before she felt lips pressed gently to hers for the briefest of moments, a hand touched gently to her chin. She tried to focus on the dark figure behind her but everything swam around and she became disoriented. The voice came again, this time softer, but it echoed horribly in her ears.

"Come now angel, what are you doing out of bed?" The voice bounced around inside her head and it took all she could do to concentrate on it. She did not trust herself to talk, the very idea of her own voice was appalling to her. She reached up and grasped at the person behind her, hoping they would steady her for she wasn't entirely sure she could trust her own legs. The figure stooped down and helped her to her feet and she again tried to focus on the face but couldn't do it in the dim light. The room started to spin again and she moved to take a step back, fearing that she'd fall off the earth.

"_I really wish someone would tell the world to stop spinning so I could get off." _Cassandra thought as she began to teeter precariously on the top step. Two strong arms grasped her and she was pulled close to the other person. She could feel tight chest muscles beneath her hands as he stood with her in his arms.

"Angel?" She shook her head slowly trying to clear enough cob webs to get a bearing on her surroundings. The man before her gently pushed a wayward strand of blonde hair off her face and bent his head to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Slowly, the kiss deepened, his tongue parting her lips and tentatively brushed hers. He held her tightly to him, one hand pressed to the small of her back, the other to the side of her neck, holding her to the passionate embrace. She was hesitant at first, not sure what was happening, but then, realizing that this must indeed be a dream decided that there was nothing to do but to yield to the fire this dream man had stoked within her. She moved her hands slowly up his well muscled body and over his shoulders and deepened the kiss they had been sharing. His lips moved away from hers and across her jaw and down her neck, his hand left her face and drifted to her breast. She moaned softly as his palm came in contact with her slowly stiffening nipple and his mouth covered hers again.

"You are mine….you will be mine forever…" He whispered close to her lips before he pulled back slightly. Her eyes were closed, her breaths coming in short gasps from the excitement of the moment. Who was the dream man? She opened her eyes hoping her vision had sharpened enough to see through the haze of the hallucination but she could focus on little as the man brushed his fingers softly over her lips. Reflexively she licked her lips and tasted something sweet on them. She was engulfed in a swirl of green and she closed her eyes and lost all control of her limbs and fell into the arms of the man she was so entranced with. Lifted up into strong arms, she slipped into the black abyss that seemed to sandwich dreams as she was carried back to dark room from whence she had first come.

Cassie woke up and shook her head slowly. The dizzying dream still clung to the far back reaches of her mind and she tried to grasp at details of it but before she could it was gone; like a wisp of smoke in the night. She remembered getting tea and then a cave and a mirror and candles. She remembered kissing someone. This was all coupled with a Ferrari driven by a penguin with the voice of Sean Connery, a beach with a purple sun and a tea party at which everyone in attendance was cross dressed. None of what she had in her mind made any sense and she attributed it to hunger as her stomach made its presence known at that very moment.

She ate her breakfast slowly, her stomach, though gnawing on itself felt uneasy and she didn't want to risk losing breakfast by feeding it too quickly. She went out to the big foyer and looked down on the few vendors and people buying last minute tickets. Sun slanted in through the big sky light above and filtered down onto the shiny polished marble floor below. She returned to the world behind the stage and talked with some of the younger cast members before she went back to her room. She found a note taped to the door.

_Come to the usual spot if you want to play the greatest game ever._

_MMR_

She smiled and turned quickly and went up to the costume loft where Mia, Matt and Ryan were playing Old Maid.

"There you are." Mia said scooping the cards up and beginning to shuffle. "What have you been up to?"

"Just eating breakfast and wandering around for a while."

"Where were you last night?" Ryan asked.

"In bed, I was exhausted."

"No you weren't. I went to check on you and you weren't there."

"Oh, I went for some tea to help me relax before I went to bed….it knocked me out when I got back….gave me some really loopy dreams though."

"Dreams again?" Mia said as she slapped at the cards, narrowly beating Matt out. "The masked man wasn't back, was he?"

"No, there was no masked man in this one." Cassie said, smiling at the thought of her mystery man's lips on hers. She counted out four cards and smiled as she laid down a jack for Matt to try to beat. "I couldn't even see his face."

"What?"

"Guys, it's no big deal…this dream was exactly that…a dream, and it was so cracked out I can barely remember any of it." Cassandra smacked down onto a sandwich, punched Matt's hand with her closed fist as he tried to sneak in beneath her, and pulled a substantial number of cards from the pile. "I mean, I remember feeling as if I was totally buzzed….you know when the police come to school and we wear the beer goggles and try to do everyday stuff?"

"Yeah." Everyone replied.

"That's what I felt like. Sound hurt, the light wasn't bright enough to see much, but I think even light would have hurt….it was just my brain coming out of a deep deep fog." Cassandra relayed everything to her friends, including Sean Connery the Ferrari driving penguin, the purple sun, and the fact that they'd all been present only in drag. She strategically left out the passionate moment shared between her and her dark figure of the night.

"You two actually make remarkably good women." She said as Mia grabbed up a stack of cards. "and Mia looked like some magnificent poof with a monocle and Hitler mustache."

"No more weed before bed, unless you're going to share with the rest of us." Mia said frowning as Matt picked up the pile. "Seriously, where do you get this shit?"

They had an afternoon performance that day and so only had a little while before it was time to get dressed. It was a whirl of costumes and make up that night. Mark had to have his make up repaired twice during the first show because he'd either sweated it off or had it ripped off when Cassie took the mask off of him. They had only two hours to rest up and re-dress between performances. Cassie was laying on the settee in her room in her corset and petticoats when someone knocked on the door. She wrapped her robe around her and went to answer it. Mark stood there, his mask in his hand, his prosthetics newly repaired for the evening performance.

"Cassandra, could I talk with you for a moment?" His speech was slow with the weight of the prosthetics pushing on his lip. "It's important."

"Sure Mark, come on in." Cassie let Mark come in and he sat down heavily in the chair she pointed to. The corset kept her sitting erect and stiff in the other chair and she watched as Mark fiddled with the mask in his hand.

"You sing wonderfully Cassandra, I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

"That's water under the bridge Mark…We've both come so far since then."

"I want you to be careful Cassandra…."

"What?" Mark's eyes met hers and she saw how serious he was.

"I mean it, I don't think you're safe here….if there was an understudy, I'd tell you to get on a plane and go home." He turned his head away from her and coughed. "Damn dust….I don't trust this place at all."

"Why not? They caught the coot who attacked me, we haven't had any problems since then….have we?"

"Some of the dancers have seen a shadow moving in the lofts and along the catwalks, I've heard things in my walls…things much bigger than rats and it's not this old place settling…it sounds like footsteps." Cassie stared blankly at Mark. "And last night I think I was drugged."

"What!" Cassandra was shocked.

"I've never been so tired in all my life…I took some of the cough medicine I've been taking for a while now and slept so hard I didn't think I'd ever wake up. I did though…only once and the whole room was spinning around me like I was drunk." A snippet of Cassandra's dream came back to her for she'd felt that way down in the cave part of her dream.

"Did you take too much of the cough medicine?"

"No, I took half the dose I'd been taking….not even actually….just enough to coat my throat for the night."

"You're not still taking it are you?"

"Just drank half the bottle." He said dryly, glaring at her. "Of course not….I threw it out as soon as I _could_ get up this morning."

"What should we do?"

"Nothing until I figure out what's going on. I want you to keep your eyes and ears open though. And warn the others…you're closer to them than I am."

"I will…"

"Thirty minutes!" Mr. Giles came up the hall and was banging on doors and bellowing for everyone to get into their final costumes and into their places.

"You have to get ready." Mark stood to leave and went out the door just as Mr. Giles was walking past. Cassandra sat at her dressing table and combed out her long blonde hair, tying it back with the gold and scarlet ribbon for her Hanibal costume. A knock at the wall signaled Ryan wanting to come through the wall. Cassie leaned over and knocked back. Ryan strode in, his hand behind his back as he left the wall slightly ajar.

"You look beautiful." He said as he came to stand behind her. She watched his eyes in the reflection and watched as they centered on where her breasts could be seen constricted as they were in the corset, rising and falling with her every breath at the open neck of her dressing gown.

"Ahem." His eyes snapped back to hers in the reflection and he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." He kissed the top of her head as she smiled indulgingly at him and then took his arm out from behind his back where he'd been hiding two white roses.

"What are those for?" She said turning to take the two flowers from him.

"One is for 'I'm sorry' the other is 'I love you.'" She stood quickly and kissed him and grinned at him as he left. She put the roses on her dressing table and went to get dressed for the play.

Afterward the performance everyone was assembled into the cafeteria for some last minute announcements for the next day's performances. Since it was mandatory, attendance was taken.

"Mark?" Mr. Giles called out, but there was no answer. "Mark?" Everyone shifted as they looked around the cafeteria, but couldn't see Mark. "Where the hell is he?"

"I'll check his dressing room." Mrs. Giles said as she made to leave.

"He may still be getting his make up off." Cassandra offered. "It looked like it was bugging him during the last act."

"I'll check make up too then." Everyone else was present and Mr. Giles began to make announcements. The meeting was almost done when Mrs. Giles returned looking very pale. She grasped Mr. Giles' hand and pulled him to where she could whisper to him.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Mr. Giles suddenly yelled.

"I mean just that, and lower your voice, you'll scare them." Mrs. Giles admonished. Matt and Mia looked at Ryan and Cassie.

"How can he be gone?" Mia asked.

"I don't know…WHY would he be gone?" Ryan looked around at the other students who were having much the same conversation as them.

"I dunno…." Matt answered. Mr. Giles banged loudly on the table at the front of the room and called for attention.

"Mark would seem to be missing." He said. "I want everyone to return to their dormitories immediately. Mr. Escrime will take the boys to their rooms. You are not to leave for anything. Mrs. Giles will escort the girls to their rooms. The leads will go with Messier LeBesprit." Everyone was evacuated under guard to their rooms. Though they were allowed to talk to each other from door to door, no one was allowed to set foot over the thresh hold. Mr. Villefort stalked past everyone's doors and went into Matt's room. He exited and looked at everyone as the craned their necks to see what was going on.

"Mr. Villefort?" Cassandra called as he made ready to leave.

"What?" He turned quickly, his voice sharp and impatient.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ryan watched as Mr. Villefort stood close to Cassie and tried to make out what she was telling him. Mr. Villefort's head snapped up and looked around.

"Does anyone else know about this?" He asked.

"No." Came Cassie's quick reply.

"Come with me." Cassie followed Mr. Villefort out of the room and up the hall towards the offices. Ryan stopped her as she walked past.

"What's going on?"

"I can't tell you yet…." Cassie said pulling away to keep up with Villefort's long quick strides. "I have to go." She ran after Villefort and caught up to him before he turned the corner.

"Miss Davagé has something to tell us Horrace." Villefort said when he brought Cassandra to the office. "Go ahead."

Cassandra told Mr. Giles everything Mark had told her that afternoon between performances.

"He seemed really scared Mr. Giles. He was afraid someone was going to do me harm…but I think they might have been after him all along."

"I'm calling the police."

"It's all my fault…I should have told someone sooner…I should have made him tell." Cassie said quickly.

"It's not your fault." Mr. Giles said as he waited for the call to go through.

Cassie had to give statements to two different police officers. By the time she was finished she was weary, but still deeply worried for Mark.

"I'll take you back to your room Cassandra."

"No. I'll stay here. I want to stay awake until he comes back."

"Cassandra…."

"I'm staying!" She said stamping her foot. "I'm not going back to my room until Mark is back here. What if he just needed out, the stress was getting to him…what if he's wandering Paris and is lost and he calls back here for a cab…someone should be here to answer the phone. You two can go look and I'll stay here to answer it." Mr. Giles nodded his consent and the two men left with the inspectors to search the streets for the missing actor.

Cassie sat on the big leather couch for hours and stared at the phone, willing it to ring and for it to be Mark on the other end of the phone. She didn't know how long she'd sat in the office when she began to feel drowsy. Her head became heavy and she frequently found herself nodding off, only to wake up when her head dropped.

Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles returned around three in the morning exhausted. Mr. Giles rubbed his face.

"How can this be Rick? How can we have lost a student?"

"He'll turn up Horrace…."

"Dead or alive?" Mr. Giles looked wearily at the younger teacher before him and voiced his fear for the first time. "What if there is a second lunatic running around these walls and now Mark is dead at their hands?"

"You need some sleep Horrace….go. We'll search again tomorrow." Mr. Giles nodded slowly and went to the room he was sharing with his wife. Mr. Villefort was heading to his room when he noticed the light shining out from beneath the office door.

_She can't still be in here…_he thought as he pushed the door open and looked inside. Cassandra was curled on the leather couch sleeping soundly.

He stood over her and looked down onto the slumbering form below him. The fair haired beauty on the couch looked like a fairy princess; golden hair spilling over her shoulders in generous waves, a delicate rose hue touched her pale cheeks, full pink lips curved into a sleepy frown, the only sign of worry on her perfect porcelain face. The night outside had turned cold with the coming of a rainstorm and with it the inside temperature of the opera house had also taken a significant drop. Goose bumps dotted her strong arms and he took his jacket off and tucked it around her. He gently pushed the hair off her neck and out of her face.

"If she sleeps here tonight, she'll have a crick in her neck tomorrow." Villefort's thoughts were well intentioned enough, but another voice in the back of his head had other things in mind. "If you move her back to her bed where she'll be more comfortable, you'll get to hold her close to you." Villefort stroked his thumb across her jaw and made up his mind to move her back to her room. She did not groan at all as he lifted her effortlessly into his arms and carried her out of the office towards the Rose room.

Cassandra had sensed someone enter the office but didn't much feel like waking to see who it was. She opened her eyes slightly and dared to peek out onto whoever had entered the room. It was Mr. Villefort. She did not move as he stared down onto her for what seemed like eternity. She knew he was staring at her, you always knew when those emerald eyes were on you….it was like being engulfed in jade fire. She suppressed a tiny shiver as his cold hands pushed the hair off her neck and his thumb gently brushed across her jaw and strayed towards her lips. Her body was filled with a cold heat…hot because she wanted him to touch her or kiss her…cold for the same reason…what would Ryan think? She was shocked when he picked her up in his strong arms and carried her out of his office. Her head was nestled against his shoulder, his arm wrapped under her back and under her legs. She could hear the faint sound of his beating heart as her ear pressed against his well muscled shoulder. She relaxed in his arms and allowed him to carry her to her room. She felt him crouch down to open her door without dropping her and he turned sideways to carry her in.

He was thankful that the bed had already been turned down. It would make it much easier to tuck her in. He carried her over to the big beautiful bed and placed her gently onto it. _"She must be exhausted" _he thought, _"She hasn't stirred once in all of this."_

Her chest rose and fell evenly with her breath, her beautiful curvaceous body had felt wonderful while it had been held to his. He pulled the blanket up over her and tucked it gently under her chin. A contented grin spread across her lips and Villefort bent down and placed a fatherly kiss on her forehead before beating a quick retreat for her door.

Cassandra, still peeking at him through her lashes watched as he bent towards her. _"He's going to kiss me…."_ The thought skipped and rolled across her brain. It was terrifying, and electrifying at the same time. She was almost disappointed when she felt his lips brush across her brow instead. She heard his footsteps move across the room and the soft sound of the door latch shut. She heaved a sigh of frustration and curled deeper into her covers to go back to sleep.


	26. Surprises of All Kinds

Cassie rose late the next morning and went to the office. She remembered Villefort carrying her to bed the night before and awoke still frustrated that he had not kissed her. The door was closed and she could hear voices on the other side.

"He won't be coming back."

"He has to! What are we going to do? What can we tell his parents?"

"I didn't say he wouldn't be coming back ever….just not tonight…not in time for the performance."

"What are we going to do? There's no way we can have Christian ready to move into the part….his voice was never strong enough." Mr. Giles said reiterating his question. "We can't possible cancel…it's a full house tonight." Cassandra heard him laugh slightly and then whisper something which sounded oddly like "A full house André, we shall have to refund a full house."

"We'll think of something…." Cassandra wandered off to the cafeteria to find the others.

"Is he back yet?" She was instantly bombarded with questions as she entered. Everyone knew she had gone to the managers' office to wait for Mark's return to the Opera house.

"No." She answered as she pushed her way through the crowd around her and accepted a cup of tea from the cook. She had no appetite and pushed food around the plate. Matt and Mia sat across from her and watched as she rolled a sausage back and forth across her plate.

"You OK?" Mia asked. She was concerned for her friend. She'd watched over the past few months as her boisterous friend had become silent and withdrawn. She'd been grateful for Ryan's influence because he'd been the only one able to pull Cassandra out of the funk she had sometimes fallen into. Mia looked at her friend this morning and saw the deep circles under her eyes, the glow usually found in them was completely gone and her skin was pale. Mia watched as Cassandra's hand trembled slightly as she added sugar to her tea.

"I'm just tired." She looked up at Mia and smiled sadly.

"No you're not…." Mia said quickly. "It's not that you're 'just tired' it's something else. You know something."

Cassandra bit her lip and looked at Mia, tears shining in her eyes.

"I'm scared Mia. Nothing has been right since we got here." Mia jumped up and ran around the table to sit beside her friend as she burst into tears. "He's disappeared Mia, he's just gone. Villefort said he won't be coming back tonight for the performance….That man that attacked me may be gone, but there has to be another one….one that attacked Mark."

"Was Mark attacked?"

"He said he heard footsteps behind the walls…that he thought someone had drugged him the other night. He urged me to tell everyone to be careful." Cassandra wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. "He saw the body in my mirror that night….I don't think the man they captured at the gala was the man who did all of this." Cassandra stood up quickly and left to return to her room. She was emotionally and mentally spent. She couldn't even think straight anymore. She scribbled a few words down in her journal and sat staring blankly at a spot on the wall. Someone knocked at her door and she sighed before she got up to answer it.

"What is it?" Cassie hadn't meant to be so harsh with Matt, but she just wanted to spend some time alone. Her morning wasn't starting off well at all on this, their last night of performances.

"Mr. Giles and Mr. Villefort are calling a meeting of the leads." He said. "They want everyone in the office ASAP."

"Alright." Cassie shut the door behind her and followed Matt to the office. She sat down in a chair at the desk and waited while the other actors filed in to the small office. Mr. Villefort was last to join them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…I'm sure you may know that Mr. Howard has not yet returned to us." Mr. Giles said somberly. "We are still looking for him, the inspectors just don't know where to start looking as Paris is such a big city."

"What about the performance tonight?" Ryan asked the question fresh on everyone's mind. It wasn't that they didn't care about Mark's safety, but they had a duty to fulfill to the public.

"Well, if he's not back in the next few hours, we're going to have to cancel. There's just no one who has the voice to play the part. Christian is Mark's understudy, but his voice just isn't there. I feel that we'd be cheating the public if we put Christian on stage, unprepared."

"How can we cancel?" Matt asked. "I heard someone in the box office say both shows have sold out entirely…they're going to move chairs into the aisles….they were literally going to pack people into the aisles."

"Would you put Christian on the stage?" Mr. Giles turned on Matt harshly. "He'd be made a fool of standing next to Cassandra."

"He hasn't made a fool of himself yet…he's been onstage with her every night."

"He doesn't have the strength of voice….." Cassandra piped up. "He sings a weaker and lower tenor than Mark. He hasn't fallen flat yet because his role doesn't call for that strength."

"Christ, no high school student has the strength of voice or half the range that Mark does." Ryan said slapping his leg and pacing towards the door. Cassandra's head snapped up. A terrifying thought entered Cassandra's head and settled heavily.

_Ryan's right…no high school student has the voice Mark has to be able to play the role. No one knows the part and no one could learn it…except one person…_

Everyone was shouting and arguing back and forth trying to come up with a way for the show to go on that night.

"Stop!" Cassandra rose from her seat, taking the leading role she usually had at St. Isabel's. "Would everyone stop just for a moment and listen to yourselves?" Everyone stared at her. "Calling in the lead from the French production? Allowing Christian to do it? Those are all insane ideas. Christian could never pull off the role, and the lead from the French production wouldn't lower himself to act with us. I wouldn't ask him to either." Everyone continued to stare silently at the woman before them. "What Ryan said was accurate. No high school student could pull it off."

"What are you saying Cassandra?"

"We're over looking the one person who could sing the part." Cassandra turned to where Mr. Villefort perched on the arm of the couch, leaning against the wall. "Mr. Villefort."

"Cassandra, you can't be serious." Ryan interjected.

"I'm very serious." Cassandra said wheeling on Ryan. "When I auditioned for this part back in December, who do you think accompanied me? Who do you think accompanied me all those nights he had me practicing?" Mr. Giles sat heavily behind his desk and stared blankly into a spot between where Cassandra stood in the middle of the office and the desk. "Why couldn't he do it?"

"He's a teacher—you're a student."

"I was a student…I'm a graduate. I'm going to be going to college in a month and acting with people older than myself. If I make acting a career I'm going to be acting with men twice my age. Why can't we do it now? Why should we overlook such a resource?" Cassandra's voice was passionate…desperate. "The show must go on….Like Matt said, they're planning on packing the aisles tonight. How can we disappoint the people?"

"What do you think Rick?" Mr. Villefort was silent for some time before he looked up at everyone in the room. His eyes found Cassandra's and he nodded.

"The girl is right. I'll need to practice and we'll have to work on the sound boards, but I think I can do it."

"Alright. Let's get this going then. We've got to resize costumes and all manner of things in order to get this thing off tonight." Everyone left the office slowly, even though they needed to act with all haste to get the production ready for the night. Cassandra was at the door when Mr. Giles stopped her. "Cassandra, we're going to need you on stage with Rick to go over certain parts of this, to make sure your voices will fit together….although from what I remember hearing, there shouldn't be a problem. We'll re-write the final scene, down in the Phantom's lair."

"What? Why?"

"The kiss?"

"I'm an actress, Mr. Giles. If I can't kiss a man on stage in character, then I have no right to be on the stage." Cassandra left the room, her heart pounding. She had completely forgotten the kiss at the end of the act. She was right though…if she couldn't kiss a fellow actor in a part as a part of the play, then she had no right trying to act anywhere.

Cassandra and Mr. Villefort worked together on stage all morning making sure their sound together was right. She was allowed a brief break when he had to work on some of the stunts and make sure the harness they used fit him properly. She went to her room and paced back and forth. She heard someone knock on the door and Ryan poked his head around it when she called out 'enter.'

"Are you OK? You look terrified."

"I'm nervous Ryan. We're going to be doing this last minute and everything….his costumes are getting sewn right now…..all last minute….this has every chance to become a disaster."

"Not about that….about you and him acting together…you've been wishy washy on him all year. One minute he's no threat, the next you're terrified of him."

"I know. I don't know what to think any more. I mean, he means well, I think he just tries too hard and it comes off wrong. We'll see tonight."

"You don't have to kiss him though, do you?"

"What?"

"At the end…."

"Of course I do…that's part of the play."

"But you can't, he's your instructor!"

"I have to! Mr. Giles offered to re-write it, but how can we? Christine's kiss is what turn's the Phantom's heart."

"But it's Villefort!"

"It's the Phantom." Cassandra said, her shoulders slumping. "It meant nothing when I kissed Mark all these last performances. It'll mean nothing when I kiss Villefort." She reached out and grasped Ryan's hand. "Are you going to be able to do this?" Ryan looked at where she grasped his hand and sighed.

"If you can do it, I can do it." She stood on tip toe and pressed her lips to his gently. He touched his forehead to hers and they stood together, hands clasped, foreheads touching for some time before Ryan decided he had to leave. Cassie sat down and went through her breathing exercises before getting ready for the matinee performance. Cassandra moved into the hall after she was dressed and ready to go and ran quickly through a scale before descending onto the main stage for the opening act.

"I haven't felt this nervous in weeks." Cassandra turned to see Mr. Villefort leaning against the wall beside the large curtains looking out onto the fast filling auditorium. In the mask and dark suit of the phantom, the man looked more than handsome. Cassandra reached out and grasped the man's hand. His fingers were icy and she reached up and touched the cheek not covered by the mask.

"Mr. Villefort, I think we're both nervous, but we have to do this. Think of all the people out there waiting to see us."

"I am, that's what's making me nervous." He said, his trademark crooked grin crossing his face. "I'm so used to being behind the scenes….to running the show. This is remarkably new for me." She smiled at him brightly.

"You'll do fine!" Suddenly a loud voice rang out over the chattering audience.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, The role of the Phantom of the Opera will be played by Mr. Richard Villefort this afternoon. Thank you."_

"Well, that makes it official." He took a deep breath and went to the back to finish preparing for the performance.

The first time Rick Villefort sang on the Parisian stage Cassie felt chills. His voice was incredibly strong and warm. When she stepped through the mirror it was as if she was really getting brought down the dark corridor to the labyrinth below.

During 'All I ask of you' Cassie looked up briefly to see Villefort glaring down at them, his reprise of the songs would have shook the rafters and everyone applauded loudly as the Chandelier came crashing down and Ryan narrowly rescued Cassandra from the speeding fixture.

Cassandra changed quickly for Masquerade and was just checking her make up at her dressing table when something caught her eye. The two roses that Ryan had given her the night before weren't there, instead, two red roses in full bloom lay on her table. She left the room quickly and went out to the hallway to prepare to re-enter the stage. Mr. Villefort came up behind her and heaved a sigh.

"How have I done so far?"

"Excellent. You're doing great! I knew you would." Cassandra said smiling broadly. "One Act down, three to go, right?"

"Yes, good luck." Mr. Villefort moved along and disappeared into the curtains in the back while Ryan moved to take his place beside Cassandra for Masquerade.

Towards the end of the Act Mr. Villefort and Cassandra were standing in the back waiting for their entry back onto the stage for the final scene in the Phantom's lair.

"It's not too late Cassandra."

"For what?" He turned to her and looked into her eyes. She was in the wedding dress for the final scene, her collar bone bare and smooth, her waist tapered and the skirt broad and full adding to the seductive curves of her body.

"To change the scene….to fix it so you don't have to…ummm…."

"Kiss?" Cassandra giggled childishly. "Mr. Villefort, please…I think we're both mature enough to…" She bobbed her head from side to side hoping he caught her drift.

"Are you sure you want to go through with it?" Cassandra bit her lip and took a deep breath and reached over and grabbed Villefort's lapels. Not knowing what possessed her to do it, she pulled him forcefully to her and, standing on tip toe, kissed him soundly.

She felt nothing….no spark, no fire, no chills; just nothing. She was pleasantly disappointed. There was nothing between them.

"There, now I don't think this is going to be a problem, do you?" She brushed her hands down over the front of her skirt and smoothed it into place, ran one hand through her hair and made to step out onto the stage for the final scene. She turned to find Villefort standing stupefied behind her. "Are you coming or not?" Villefort cleared his throat and the two of them entered the stage to finish the performance.

She was sitting in her dressing room still waiting for the costume mistress to come and get her out of her dress. The performance had only been over for thirty minutes or so and backstage was hectic with police and reporters trying to get to Mr. Giles. Mr. Villefort was sequestered in the upstairs costume loft where the mistresses were fixing costumes that weren't sized right for the original performance, but had been deemed suitable for the moment. They were also trying to fix the prosthetic that wouldn't seem to stick to his face properly. Cassandra heard a knock at the door and went to answer it.

"Messier Le Besprit, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Mr. Le Besprit held in his arms a large bouquet of pink roses in varying shades.

"For you, mademoiselle." He smiled as he placed the large bouquet into Cassandra's arms. "From a gentleman admirer?"

"Mr. Alexander?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at the smiling stage manager.

"No…"

"Who is my admirer Mr. Le Besprit?" Cassandra said gently moving the roses looking for a card. "You must tell me."

"He said that I was to give you this…" He took a matchbook from his pocket and handed it to Cassandra. She looked at it carefully, her eyes suddenly lit up and she pushed Mr. Le Besprit out of the way. She gathered the heavy skirts of the wedding dress and sprinted out to the stage foyer entrance where people sometimes gathered hoping the actors and actresses would come out and talk to them. She slid to a halt at the top of the hall and looked over the people there.

One man, stood out from the rest. Tall with dark hair, he stood with his back to her, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a tan raincoat, even though she was sure the Parisian sun was shining down on the outside world. He turned when he heard her footsteps rush towards him, a gray streak running through his hair at his left temple, smile lines crinkled merrily at his wonderful blue gray eyes.

"Daddy!" Cassandra leapt as best she could into the arms of her father. "Oh, you came!" She laughed as he buried his face in her hair and held her close to him.

"My beautiful baby girl, you were WONDERFUL!" He said spinning about. He set her down and looked into her eyes.

"You were in the audience? You saw me?"

"Of course! Would I come all the way to Paris to not see you act?" He laughed out loud. "I booked the first ticket I could to be here when you called me last time."

"I'm so glad you came." She escorted her father up the hall to the door where Mr. Le Besprit stood laughing. "When did you get here? How did you know I would know it was you with the matchbook?"

"Who else carries a matchbook from a Russian hotel in their pocket?" They walked through the back stage his arm wrapped around her slender corseted waist, hers wrapped around him.

"You been working out old man? Or are they just not feeding you in Russia?"

"This 'old man' has been working out, does it show?" She pinched his side and laughed as he jumped. "Hey now…save some for my admirers."

"Admirers? Ha!" He hugged her closer to his side.

"What about you? Baby doll you look like a stick? Did St. I's ever feed you? Or have you just totally sworn off French cuisine?"

"Trust me, I'm eating just fine….it's the corset…it makes me look REALLY skinny."

"Cassandra, what's the meaning of this?" Mrs. Giles came around the corner and saw the older gentleman with his arm wrapped around the young stars waist.

"Mrs. Giles! This is my father, Charles Davagé. Daddy, this is Mrs. Giles, she's the dance instructor and is playing Madame Giry in the play."

"Meredith…it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Davagé."

"Please, call me Charles." He said as he took the woman's hand. Cassandra hugged her father and smiled as Mrs. Giles did. "You've done a wonderful job with her…did you know, she never used to be able to put one foot in front of the other without falling? She was a horrible klutz…how did you ever manage to get her to dance so wonderfully?

"She's still a horrible klutz, I'm just a wonderful instructor!" The two adults laughed and Cassandra joined them. "Go, enjoy your time….just remember you have to be ready in two hours for the second performance."

"Yes ma'am…just tell the costume mistresses to come to my room when they're ready…I can't get out of this thing by myself."

"I'll do that."

"Are you going to be able to stay for the second performance?" Cassandra asked as she closed the door to her dressing room behind her father. "Or do you have to catch a plane?"

"Well, I couldn't exactly afford two tickets for tonight….but I was hoping I could take you to dinner."

"I'll get you a ticket! I'll pull some strings at the box office…" her father held up a hand quickly and laughed.

"Wait kiddo…wait! I didn't even get a chance to unpack or even go to my hotel…I got right off the plane and came here, paid the cabby to take my suitcase to the hotel."

"So you're leaving?"

"No, I'm going to go back to the hotel, freshen up and get back here to watch my baby girl take her curtain call of her final performance. I'm sure you can pull enough strings to get me in for that."

"You bet." The two sat and talked for only a few minutes more before the costume mistresses came. "Daddy, you'll have to go, I've got to finish getting ready. I'll see you at the end of this performance. I'll go talk to Mr. Le Besprit and have him let you in the back of the theater." She kissed her father on the cheek before he left with Mr. LeBesprit who came to escort him back to the foyer entrance.

_A/N: Keep those wonderful reviews coming! I've actually finished the story (I think), but I want to see what everyone has to say before I post the last few chapters. The whole thing should be up by next week if you're all VERY good and polite in your reviews.---insert evil laughter here as you all shriek at my dispicable and evil ways----_


	27. Down Once More

"Hey Cass? Who was that dude that came out of your room?"

"That was my dad!" Cassie turned, the beads on her skirt clacking noisily as she turned and grasped Ryan's hands. "He came Ryan! He actually came and saw us perform!"

"That's great! I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet him." Ryan's face instantly lit up with the realization that he'd over reacted…the gentleman was only her father….

"There was hardly time for me to have a decent conversation with him!" Cassandra said fixing her hair and talking animatedly. "He was in a rush to get to his hotel and relax, I was trying to change." They exited the room hurriedly and made their way to the stage, Cassie chattering excitedly the whole time.

"My earring!" Cassandra said grasping her ears. "I forgot to put the left one in, I'll be right back!" Cassandra dashed out of Ryan's grasp and back to her dressing room where she picked up the earring and quickly fastened it. She was almost back to the stage when she saw Mr. Villefort come out of a nook in the wall where she was sure there was no door. He was in his full Phantom costume and the moment made Cassandra's blood run cold. He did not see her but moved towards the stage. Cassandra looked for a door where he had come out of, but could find none, not even a crack where one might have been. "That's impossible…" She heard the orchestra start up and sprinted to the stage to get ready for her entrance.

"Villefort walked out of a wall." She said to Matt and Ryan as they stood aside during a costume change. "I think he knows more than we do about the passage ways."

"That's creepy."

"That's not the only thing….remember the roses you gave me yesterday Ryan?"

"Yeah…."

"They're red."

"What?" Ryan looked skeptically at Cassandra as she leapt into the trousers for Il Muto.

"They were red! They weren't white anymore. I was going to say something, nice joke, but now…"

"I told you there wasn't something right with Villefort."

"Maybe it's all coincidence, I'm not sure yet….we just need to be aware…and watch each others' backs." Cassandra rushed on stage for the scene with Davette.

"Don't piss him off Cassandra…he saw you with that man earlier."

"Who? What?" Cassandra whispered at Davette as they moved to take their places for Il Muto.

"He saw you with that man….he wasn't real happy about it." Cassandra had noticed Villefort's eyes were a little colder than usual during the 'Phantom of the Opera', but thought nothing of it.

They finished the Act smoothly and Cassandra got dressed for Masquerade. She entered the hallway pulling her bodice into place and tucking her lustrous hair behind her ear. Cassie went to find Ryan but was waylaid by one of the costume mistresses.

"Cassandra! I need you to run to Mr. Villefort's room and get the bottle of glue that we left on his dressing table." The woman said as she worked furiously on one of the girls' skirts. "We left it in there and he's got a bit of latex hanging off his face. Hurry!"

Cassandra dashed up the hall, a flurry of tulle, ribbon and glitter. She opened the door to Villefort's room and rushed to the dressing table looking furiously for the glue but couldn't find it amongst the other prosthetics and paint. She went to the bedside table and then to the desk. Every flat surface of the room was covered in papers. Cassandra grumbled to herself as she moved about the room, pieces of paper sliding beneath her slippered feet and making getting through the room difficult.

"You'd think with him being an administrator, he'd keep a better filing system."

The bottle of glue was on the far side of the desk and she leaned far over the paper strewn desk top to grab the bottle. She turned quickly and dashed out, her skirts catching some of the sheets and knocking them to the floor. She crouched down and picked them up. She was just going to fling them back on top of the desk when something caught her eye. On the top sheet was a map, drawn by hand in black ink. Cassie read some of the words and realized it was a map of the secret passages of the opera house. The second sheet contained sketches of some of the dancers. Cassandra thought they were remarkably good. There were several others of various people in the cast doing things in the back of the stage, but then Cassandra found one that made her blood run cold. It was a picture of her sitting at the base of a statue looking down, light reflecting off her hair. By the dark background, she assumed it was night. She quickly folded the piece of paper and stuffed it into the bodice of her dress before flinging the papers onto the desk and running back to the stage.

"What took you?" The costume mistress asked as she snatched the glue from Cassandra's hand. Villefort stood, with the big skull mask in his hand, his eyes blacked out so his skin wouldn't show through the eye holes of the mask.

"I had to look for it….it wasn't on the dresser, it was on his desk." His eyes were cold as he watched her turn away. Cassandra shrugged and moved to go stand by Ryan.

"When we both get a chance, we need to talk." She said clasping his hand in hers. Her fingers were icy and he looked down at her concerned.

"Villefort?"

"Yeah."

They entered the stage with huge smiles and played everything off smoothly. Their first chance to speak came almost fifteen minutes later.

"Look at this."

"What…?"

"I went up to the roof one night when I couldn't sleep…..I found this in his room…there were others of other cast members….but this one…this one meant he was up there too…."

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Villefort came down the dark corridor where Cassie and Ryan were standing whispering.

"No…nothing." Ryan said tucking the paper into the sleeve of his shirt. "We were just talking about her dad, that's all."

"Your father?"

"Yes, he's here!" Cassandra said catching on to the lie. "Well, not here here, but he came to Paris and was at the matinee."

"I see. We should get back to stage, you can all discuss this later."

Cassandra was in the middle of a costume change between the graveyard scene and the performance of Don Juan Triumphant when Mr. Giles came up to Mr. Villefort on the other side of the curtain.

"You seem to be enjoying those pyrotechnics just a little too much, eh Rick?" Mr. Giles' seemingly innocent conversation rang warning bells in Cassandra's head…bells that didn't make sense, but just added more pieces to the puzzle.

'Eh Rick….Ay Rick….Erik?" She moved the curtain to the side and looked at Mr. Villefort with wide eyes…..there was no way she heard what she just had…..


	28. Drugs and Madness

"You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge…" The words of the Phantom struck fear into Cassandra's heart, for they were sung as they'd never been sung before. "I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge…."

Cassandra stood straight and tall as he sang the words, staying on the opposite side of the table from this man, this threat. He was the Phantom of the Opera, in life and in play. Though her mind screamed out for her to believe it, her heart still tried to convince her otherwise.

"Past the point of no return. No Backward glances, the games we've played 'til now are at an end…." Cassandra believed it, she'd played with fire and now she was going to get burned. He'd seduced her, tricked her into believing he was an innocent being, she'd kissed him and fueled his hunger for her.

"I have come here hardly knowing the reason why…." Cassandra had to force herself through the next line, talking about their bodies entwining. The last performance seemed like a dream, so effortless and easy. The reality, this performance, was difficult to say the least. "When will the flames at last consume us?" She could only hope it wouldn't come out too badly.

He whisked her off the stage as planned and she went to get her wedding dress on for the last scene. She was grabbed while still trying to undo the buttons of her Don Juan dress. She lashed out at her captor but was restrained and pulled into shadow.

"Cassie, it's me….stop!" Cassandra froze and turned in the arms of the person who'd grabbed her.

"Mark?"

"Yeah…."

"What the hell is going on? Where have you been?"

"The American Embassy, trying to convince them and the French inspectors that Rick Villefort is not who he says he is."

"He's not."

"How do you know?" Cassie told Mark about the drawings, the maps of the secret passageways, the roses, and what Mr. Giles had spoken.

"Well, I doubt he's the original Phantom….but he's not Rick Villefort…Rick Villefort died six years ago in Denmark."

"He said he was from Denmark."

"Well, that explains a little. They're still getting into position; you're the only one that knows I'm back. They wanted me to tell you to be careful, and that they're going to make the arrest after curtain call. Don't let him out of your sight…just lead him to the edge of the stage and they're going to march him off."

"I don't know if I can…"

"Cassie, you have to!" Mark said grabbing her shoulders. "If you don't go, he'll suspect something and make a run for it."

"I'm scared." She looked back towards the light where Ryan and Mrs. Giles were singing, Mr. Villefort mysteriously invisible in the backstage world. Mark hugged Cassie quickly.

"Don't be….the police are here, he won't suspect a thing."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"It' won't." He clasped her hands in his and looked into her eyes seriously. "It won't. I'm going to let Ryan in on the plan in a moment. Finish dressing quickly. Go!" Mark dashed off in the shadows and away from Cassandra. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest and she was sure the audience would hear it through the microphone when she got back on stage. She did not speak to Villefort before they entered the stage for the final scene. Once on stage, she looked about for any sign of the police but couldn't see them.

"Pitiful creature of darkness…what kind of life have you known?" Cassandra stepped closer to Villefort whose eyes danced across her face. "God give me courage to show you" _and to get through all of this in one solid piece_ "You are not alone!"

She pressed her lips to Villefort's and closed her eyes, praying for the minute to end. Suddenly he moved…_he wasn't supposed to move_. His arm came up around her back, the long cloak he wore covering them both and then, with an audible click, the ground dropped away beneath them and the two of them plummeted into darkness.

Cassandra couldn't push away from Villefort. She was pressed tightly to his body as they continued to drop; she wasn't sure she wanted to push away even if she could have moved. Someone shouted her name and it echoed off the walls of the shaft they were falling through. Suddenly the angle of their descent changed and she realized they were going down a slide, something like the speed slides at a water park. When they slowed and finally came to a stop Villefort released his hold on her and pulled her to her feet. She was yanked down a dark corridor and thrust roughly into a large chamber lit with dim lights. At the far side of the chamber in the darkest shadows she could just make out the lake.

"What's going on? What's the meaning of this?" Cassandra said whirling to face Villefort.

"Come now Cassandra, I've told you before…playing dumb doesn't become you."

"I don't understand any of this…."

"Sure you do….I know you were standing on the other side of the curtain when Horrace slipped and accidentally said my true name….not like he knew it, but he said it just the same. Shocked me as much as it shocked you, I'm sure."

"You must be mistaken." He gripped her arm harshly and pulled her closer to the shore of the lake where a boat floated gently at the waters edge. Just before they reached the lake's shore he pulled her to him and without preamble held something over her mouth. She struggled against him but he was too strong. The world around her slowly faded and she lost control of her ability to stand.

"I told you stupidity is not your strong suit, neither is lying." He said as he took up the weight of her body in his arms and carried her to the boat. He laid her gently in the bow of the boat and rushed to a rusty fly wheel on the wall. He cranked it effortlessly and Cassandra, still trying to cling to consciousness, heard the unmistakable sound of rushing water.

"You mean to drown us?" She said weakly.

"No…only stop our pursuers." Villefort jumped into the tiny boat and began to pole it across the black waters of the lake. "They won't be able to get across, and even if they did, with all the water it will be impossible for them to reach us." Cassandra, fought off the darkness for only a few moments more before succumbing to it.

Cassie came back to consciousness slowly. It took her several minutes to focus on the world around her. She could see high damp stone walls, in her peripheral vision she just caught the sight of a flickering candle. She was still laying in the boat, but Villefort was no longer standing in the stern. The boat rocked gently in the water. For one terrified moment Cassie thought she'd been set adrift. She grasped the cold sides of the wooden gondola and sat up, fighting the swirling sensation that engulfed her.

"So, you're awake." Cassandra turned towards the voice. Mr. Villefort was sitting in a large, throne like chair, one leg lazily slung over the arm. He was cutting into an apple with a sharp knife and eating pieces of fruit off the blade. Cassandra squinted at him and shook her head to clear it of the drug induced fog.

"What did you do to me?"

"I drugged you with a little bit of laudanum. Just enough to knock you out so you'd be no trouble on the boat ride here." He stabbed the knife into the arm of the chair and stood up, brushing his hands on the black trousers as he came towards her. "But that's all in the past, isn't it?"

He came to her side and, after throwing the apple core into the lake, helped her stand in the boat and lifted her effortlessly onto dry ground, the hem of the wedding dress never once touching the water. He extended his arms and gestured behind him.

"Welcome home my dear…"

"You can't be serious." Cassandra snorted as she slowly allowed him to guide her up a series of stairs to a second level. "I'm not going to stay here."

"You will because you have no choice. No one will come to get you, because they can't, try though they might." He turned his back on her and made some notes on a piece of paper on the desk in front of him. She balled her hands into tight fists trying to calm her nerves and keep a hold on the situation that was already out of her control. She was shocked to see he still had the face make up on.

"My father will have the police down here tearing this place apart brick by brick looking for me."

"Really now Cassanrda? Are they going to come?" He had turned back to face her, a sheaf of papers still in his hands. "What makes you so sure?"

"They know you are a fake! Mark said they told him Richard Villefort died six years ago."

"Wonderful thing technology….all one has to do is steal a name, and so much else comes with it."

"Who are you really then?" Cassandra took a few steps forward. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" His face lit up with her request.

"All in good time." He smiled lasciviously and put the papers back on the desk. "But first a tour of your home…." He made a move to grasp her hand but she pulled it away. "Don't be like that Cassandra, come….let me show you around." Cautiously Cassandra allowed him to guide her through the lair and around the different rooms showing her different antiques and telling her stories about who had owned what at what point in time.

He marched up the stairs to another level of the lair and Cassandra, gathering her skirts followed.

On the walls were drawings of girls of various ages and looks. Brunettes, blondes, old, young, curvy, fat and flat, all were surrounding a painting of a girl with smooth ivory skin, long blonde hair, a winning smile and surrounded by roses.

"Cassandra, I give you Mademoiselle Christine Daaé."

"She's a fictional character." Cassandra said looking at what could have been a picture of her.

"No she's not!" The man before her yelled then turned back to the picture. "She was quite real, quite alive. You've been staying in her dressing room these past several weeks you know." Mr. Villefort said touching the oil painting delicately. "She adored Roses."

Cassandra looked at his feet where several other pictures lay on the floor. They'd been torn from the wall and she looked up to see why they'd been removed. Just to the right of the painting was a place cleared of all drawings except one. On a large sheet of vellum was a drawing of her in her school uniform. She maneuvered her way around Villefort to stare at the drawing. "You resemble her quite a bit. I noticed it the first I saw you. I didn't dream to hope that you had her voice as well." Cassandra reached out and touched her picture not believing it. She looked into Villefort's green eyes which glimmered as he stared at her.

"You're crazy."

"You're not the first to say that, you know." He smiled. "Nor will you be the last, but that's beside the point." He moved back to the main area that overlooked the lake. "They've all said that before, but all of them were grateful for my teachings….I made them stars in their own rights!" He said gesturing back towards the room where the pictures were. "All of them gave it up for some handsome young fool who swept them off their feet in a moment of pleasure and weakness." He turned abruptly to face her. "I swore I would not give you that chance. I would not let that fool take you from me."

"Ryan?"

"Yes….Ryan." he imitated. "That young fool spoiled things from the very moment he walked into the music room. I knew that look from the very start. I did my best to keep you from him but it would seem I failed."

"You knew I went out with him."

"Of course I knew. Ha! I knew you were at Graceview to see their pitiful performance. I saw you and the other three. The Giles' were pleasantly unaware of your presence."

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I knew you hadn't done anything….it was unimportant." He said with a shrug. "Giles wanted to encourage the two of you to court because he believed it added passion on stage; that your kisses were made more realistic between Christine and Raoul. What he didn't understand was that Christine was destined to be with the Phantom….with me!"

"Never!" Cassandra was shocked with how fast the man moved. He grasped her arms and pressed her roughly against the wall behind her. His lips were close to her ear, his words turned her guts to water. She could feel his hot breath dance across her collar bone and over her shoulder; it made the hair on the back of her neck and arms prickle.

"You say that now….but look where you are standing? Pressed to the wall by the Phantom himself? Hidden away from the world where they cannot get to you. No one is going to come for you Cassandra."

"You say that now." Cassandra answered stiffly as she felt his hands caress over her waist. They were gentle, she couldn't deny that, but they were also cold….like hands of death. She felt his lips dance across her neck distracting her slightly. "You say that now, but who are you trying to convince, me or you?" The man growled and turned away from her, pushing her hard against the wall. "You're not so sure! You're not so sure this is going to work!"

"You've come here, you will not leave!" He said quickly. "You love me, though you fight it now, I know you do."

"You're a fool to think that! I feel nothing for you but loathing and hatred…."

"No fear?" He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow coming slightly closer to her.

"I don't fear scum like you!" She made to run thinking that if she could swim out of the lair, she'd be able to find those coming to rescue her. She was just reaching the place where the boat was when his voice stopped her.

"You don't want to do that." She stopped and turned to face him, backing towards the water.

"Why not?"

"You'll drown as sure as we're both standing here. You don't think that gown will pull you down?" Cassandra looked down at the layers of lace and heavy satin that made even walking a difficult procedure. "That dress will pull you down to the depths of the lake and then truly, no one will find you…for who would think to look for you at the bottom of the lake?" His voice was calming and she stopped moving as he walked slowly down the stairs, his hands clasped behind his back. "Now, come here…come away from the water…"

"No!" Cassandra made to turn back towards the lake, determined to make an attempt regardless of the clothes she wore. Cassandra stopped cold as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. There were two darts jutting painfully from just below her collar bone.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this Cassandra, but you've given me no choice." Villefort moved slowly across the floor towards her and lay a long skinny tube on the table beside the stairs. Things around her began to swim, his words became slow and slurred. "I spent quite a bit of time in the Amazon where they taught me to create a serum that would temporarily paralyze prey and to use this wonderfully useful blow gun." He was at her side just as her legs gave out beneath her and swept her up into his arms. "That's more like it, isn't it love?" She wanted to scream, to fight but couldn't get the commands to run from her brain to her paralyzed limbs. She was as helpless and as gentle as a kitten in his arms. He carried her up the stairs to one of the bed chambers and lay her gently on a great bed. She could only watch as he arranged her skirts across the bed, crossed her arms over her stomach and brushed some of her hair away from her face.

"Sleep…you've had a trying day." He whispered in her ear. Before he left he placed a chaste and gentle kiss on her un-responsive lips. "Sleep well my love." He left the room taking the great candelabra and all the light with him.


	29. Questions and Answers

Cassandra awoke in the lair. She'd so hoped that there had been an accident on stage and she'd been knocked out and dreamt the whole ordeal with Villefort. She rose slowly from the bed and staggered out into the main part of the lair. Richard Villefort sat at a big desk scribbling furiously at something before him.

"You shouldn't be up yet." He said without turning. "The toxins are still running through your body." Cassandra's voice still did not want to work and she took a series of deep breaths trying to calm herself. She had to rely on the door frame to support her wobbly legs and hold her up.

"How long have I been out?"

"An hour…maybe two. Time means nothing here Cassandra, you'll have to learn that."

"I want answers. I want them now and I want the truth." Her voice shook with the effort of her statement.

"Ah, do you promise to be calm about it?"

"Yes." He got up and held his hand out to her.

"Come, we shall go sit and discuss this like a couple of adults." He waited as she came forward slowly, still trying to work through the effects of the drug he'd injected into her body. "Come, sit down my sweet."

"I'm not 'your sweet.'" Cassandra said sitting heavily in the chair he'd directed her to.

"Of course you aren't." His voice was calm, his tone that of an indulging parent rather than a captor and a mad man. "Now, what do you want to know?"

"Who are you, really?"

"My name is Erik. Most of the world knows me as the Phantom of the Opera."

"I said I wanted the truth." She said as he handed her a glass of amber liquid. She looked at it warily.

"It's not poison, or some love draught. It's brandy, it will warm you." She took it from him carefully but didn't drink it. "And I'm telling you the truth." He said sitting in the chair opposite her. "My name is Erik. For centuries I was the Phantom of the Opera. I helped to build the original opera that stood in this place, I helped with renovations when it came time for it. I traveled the world and built great palaces for the royalty with all manners of trapdoors, secret rooms and moving walls. I was quite a commodity in my time. Richard Villefort was merely an alias. He died six years ago in Denmark. I happened to find his grave, did some research and resurrected his name."

"Why?"

"Well, if not Richard Villefort than I would have used any other alias I could have come up with…"

"Not that….." She interrupted quickly.

"Well, 'why' is a fairly ambiguous question. You'll have to be more specific." He sipped at his brandy.

"Why did you choose me?"

"Your voice is spectacular. Very little work was all it took to give you the sweetness that my dear Christine had; the strength…the passion! You were her reincarnation, body, voice and soul." Cassandra thought back to the very beginning….to seven months before, in December when he'd first come to St. Isabel's.

"When you first came to St. I's you gave us a lot of information."

"All false."

"The midnight practices were just to train my voice to sound more like hers?"

"Yes, like Christine's. You came along quite well." He grinned. "I was also trying to keep you from outside influences, your friend Mia and that fop Ryan."

"When we arrived here, you knew a lot of the streets….is it because you've seen the city change?"

"Very good…you're beginning to catch on. Yes, I grew up in this city, lived here for more than one hundred years, traveled for another hundred and returned to it. I've seen this city go from a city of pestilence and plague, to a city run by fear and the gutters run with blood. I've seen this city rise up from the ashes like a Phoenix, to become the City of Light and L'amour." He grinned wickedly. "I've seen young girls like you, little theater brats, orphaned by the world and abandoned to no one. I've taken them in and seen them run from me into the arms of other men who can show them the light of the world. I've seen you and that brat on more than one occasion."

"Brat? You mean Ryan and I?"

"Yes. Ryan. I thought about turning him in that night for drinking….knowing you both had signed those contracts. But then I knew I'd lose you as well, so there was nothing I could say or do. I watched when you returned to the hotel that night and I watched as you pulled him to you like a whore. I watched as you kissed him…" He broke off, his bright green eyes seemed distant. "I saw you invite him into your room that night."

"You were in the alley with us?"

"Yes." Cassie moved forward on the timeline. Things were beginning to make sense to her.

"When we got here, I started to see a man. Who was he in all this?"

"Ah….him…yes."

"Well?" Cassandra asked when she couldn't get an exact answer out of him.

"You've read Leroux's work. You know of the Rat catcher."

"Yes."

"That's him."

"The Rat catcher?" Cassandra didn't comprehend. "He's as old as you?"

"Well, not exactly, but his whole family has lived in the walls of this place trying to hunt me down. It's a pity to know that three generations of men lived in the walls hunting for me while I was out enjoying the world. They ceased being rat catchers and were primarily Phantom hunters. He found me wandering the corridors one night and took suspicion."

"He was in the balcony."

"Yes, he was hoping he could scare me. It almost worked but you took greater fright in him. I used it to my advantage when I drugged you and worked my way into your dreams. There was nothing he could do to stop me. And so that night with the burning body, I hoped to scare you so strongly, so deeply, that you'd be willing to believe anything I fed you."

"You were the man that grabbed me? That's why you didn't come running when I was screaming…that's why it took so long…you were trying to get out of the room…."

"Very good Cassandra." He smiled at her.

"Then he was the one that chased me from the costume loft?"

"Yes. He wanted to warn you that day…to alert you to my presence. But we couldn't have that could we."

"Why didn't Giles believe in him?"

"He didn't want to believe the Phantom existed. His father left Paris and the Opera house and went to America. His brother, Horrace Giles' uncle was left here to go mad." At Cassandra's confused look the man across from her laughed. "Mr. Giles is descended of Rat Catchers…He didn't want to believe the stories of his father were true. So he ignored it. Then that senile old fool tried to warn you again at the gala. I curtailed that though."

"You let an innocent man go to jail!"

"Preservation, dear Cassandra." He laughed. "Self preservation in it's most base form. Now, you said you'd be calm….if you cannot manage to hold your anger in check, I will drug you again." Cassandra took several deep, angry breaths. "Drink some of the brandy…I'm telling you it will help."

"Not until I get all my answers." She said quickly, lest she be distracted again. "Did you drug Mark?"

"Yes."

"Why did you drug him?"

"I was hoping to keep him docile, so I could work my way in. He was stronger than I thought…all of you were. I never expected him to make a run for the authorities, but you were just dim enough to offer up his spot to me. I never could have dreamed of a better chance to get to you."

Cassandra shook her head, shocked that she'd been so blind as to fall into his trap. She knocked back the brandy roughly and looked around her.

"Davette?"

"A pawn….she's so dense it's painful, and her voice? HA!" Villefort shook his head. "She doesn't even deserve to be cleaning an opera house much less singing in one. She wanted the same attention I doted on you, but how could I squander my gifts on a waste like that?"

"And what happens now?" Cassandra asked quietly. The man across from her got up and walked towards her slowly. His hand caressed her cheek and gently brought her eyes to look up at him.

"What happens now my dear, is that we live together forever…here." He looked into her eyes. "We shall live here and make wonderful music together; you my muse, and me the genius who will put it all together." Cassandra was going to argue, but he placed a finger to her lips and silenced her before she could say anything. "You are being rather negative, always saying and thinking 'never.' It's already happened! The forces have already been in motion. The lake will fill with water, and they will never know what to do to drain it and we can live here in peace forever….and you will love it. The peace and solitude; the darkness and quiet!" She shook her head. "Come now, I've seen you look at the moon, the way you long for darkness to come. You shall rule the dark and the night just as I have done. You will be my partner and the two of us, together, will find love in the black."

"I don't love you."

"You say that now, you will learn differently." Cassandra stood abruptly and made a move for the stairs, brushing past him. "You will learn that you were lusting after Ryan…he never truly cared for you. What I have to offer you is eternity….eternal life, love, happiness and music." Cassandra fell to her knees at the top of the stairs, the many layers of the heavy wedding gown billowing out around her. "And you're already in your gown….didn't I do a wonderful job?"

Cassandra turned tear filled eyes toward the mad man behind her. He'd been behind everything, he'd masterminded her every move and she'd been powerless to stop him. He'd run rampant in her mind and she hadn't been able to keep him from it. "What?"

"I couldn't very well have my lovely bride wearing that rag, now could I?"

"You destroyed the other gown?"

"Yes, and chose this as a suitable replacement." Cassandra turned back forward and looked out over the lair into the spider veined mirror.

"I've been here before….I've seen this before." She suddenly whispered. The Phantom's cheshire cat grin reflected a dozen times in the mirror and cut Cassandra off before she could continue.

"Oh, my pet….you've been here before. In your previous life when you were Christine Daaé you came here quite often on your own. But more recently, I brought you down here. You woke once…oh, I see you remember that." He said as her face was covered with realization.

"That was a dream!" Cassandra said, shocked. "That was a dream…it had to have been…" She thought back to Sean Connery the Ferrari driving penguin, and everyone in drag. This had been wrapped up in it all…it had been a dream!

"It was not a dream….I'm sorry I had to drug you to do it, but I didn't think you were a heavy enough sleeper to bring you here without some outside influence, I was wrong apparently. Tell me, what do you remember of it?"

"I remember waking up back there…" She turned slowly and pointed back to where she'd awoken minutes before. "I came out and sat on the stairs and saw a broken mirror." She turned back to the front and looked at the broken mirror across from her. She watched as the dozens of reflections of herself pointed back at her. "Everything was so loud! Then someone touched me and I tried to see them." Her voice was desperate to remember the bits of the dream she had mostly forgotten; this place reawakening it. "I never saw a face…YOUR FACE!" She suddenly shouted. "You kissed me." She looked up at him where he towered over her. "You pervert! I…..you carried me back to the bed but I passed back out."

"Laudanum; it sometimes has that effect on people."

"The taste of almonds…you put it in my tea!"

"Ah, so you did taste it…." He smiled. "Yes, that night I drugged you, other nights I made sure you were worked to exhaustion and watched you sleep. I love to watch you sleep…." He handed a sheaf of drawings to her and then left her to look through them. Most were of her laying peacefully in bed, sleeping soundly. "You're so peaceful, one could say 'angelic' when you sleep."

"Bastard!" Cassandra shouted as she flung the drawings away from her. She saw Villefort come up behind her in the mirror. He knelt behind her and gently placed a veil on her head and kissed her shoulder. "You look magnificent."

"Don't….Don't touch me!" Cassandra said standing and moving away from him. She went down the stairs where it was more open. She had to get away from the broken reflection of herself and away from the drawings. "I won't marry you! I'm only eighteen!"

"Christine was to marry me at sixteen, you will do so now." He said sharply, coming up behind her. Cassandra fought against him as he captured her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers forcefully. She bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood and forced him to back away. Villefort touched his fingertips to his lip and looked at the bloodstained tips. His emerald eyes seemed to burngodl then blackas he glared fire and daggers at her.

"You little bitch!" Villefort shouted as he back handed her across the room.


	30. Liberation

Cassandra caught herself on the big chair and looked back at the angry man standing over her. Her face hurt and some where in the back of her mind she knew she wanted to cry, but she could not---_would not_---allow this man to see her cry. He towered over her as she tried to right herself and move away; his arm rose for a second blow.

"Stop!" Cassandra and the Phantom looked over to the gate where Ryan stood with Mark on the other side. "Don't you dare touch her!" They were both soaked and Mark was working furiously to raise the gate with the old fashioned winch outside.

"How did you…?" Villefort's face paled as he realized his outer defenses had been breeched.

"We swam….the police are preparing divers to come in here." Ryan said easily as the gate slowly came up and he ducked underneath it. Mark followed just as the gate lowered back behind them. Ryan started to come forward but Villefort made a quick move and suddenly drew a gun from the table next to him.

"So! You think you will win so easily? You think you can defeat me?" Ryan and Mark froze as Villefort marched up the steps to the second level of the lair and looked down at them, only emphasizing that he had the upper hand. "You'll never win….you're merely children." He sneered.

"We're a hell of a lot smarter than you." Mark said. "We broke through your security system…it sucks by the way."

"A minor technicality." Villefort said distractedly. "Something I'll remedy after you're dead."

"Are you OK Cassie?" Ryan asked wading towards her. Cassie was going to answer when the gun went off. Ryan froze.

"Don't move, whelp." Villefort had fired it into the murky water at Ryan's feet halting him.

"There's help coming….you won't get away with this." Mark said.

"I already have. And for you to think I don't have a contingency plan is foolish." The Phantom hissed.

"You don't have a contingency plan!" Mark said moving closer to the dry ground of the lair. "You're scared, I can see it in your eyes…you won't shoot us, you're too afraid…you're…" The gun went off again and Mark was knocked back. Cassandra screamed.

"Mark!"

Ryan rushed to the other boy's side and helped him stand. Mark's sleeve had a blossom of blood forming at the shoulder.

"That son of a bitch shot me!" Mark said shocked. "That bastard." Ryan made a move for the beach again but Villefort leveled the pistol at him as well.

"Don't be so foolish as to try my patience again, boy." Ryan froze. Cassandra looked from where Mark stood, leaning against the cave wall to where Ryan stood glaring at Villefort above them all on the second tier of the lair. Cassandra followed his gaze up to see Villefort smiling maliciously down at the boys.

"So, you came to rescue the girl did you? Thought you'd be heroes?" When he got no response he laughed. "You can not defeat the Phantom of the Opera!" His voice bounced off the walls of the cave and seemed to come from everywhere at once. "You'll never be any match for me."

"Who are you and why have you done all this?" Ryan stormed at the man above him. "This is madness!"

"I shall tell you a story…would you like that?" He asked laughing. "You would? Well, let's start out right then shall we? Once upon a time, there was a man who was hideously ugly, deformed. The fates dealt him a cruel blow indeed for with making him so wretchedly hideous they made him wickedly brilliant. A man of magic, math and music he traveled the world show casing his talents from beneath a mask. But he was cursed, as all men are by the wretched touch of age. Terrified of succumbing to the low of mere mortals, he sold his soul to the devil to keep age from touching him. He traveled the world, making wonderful friends and having many adventures. But his home and his best love was the opera. And so that is where he returned, only to find that the muse had dropped a wonderful gift into his lap; a lovely young girl with the voice of an Angel."

A whimsical look came over the madman's features, but Cassandra was drawn deeper into the crazy tale. "He did not age as she did and had only to wait for the day she came of age to make his move. Unfortunately when he did, it was ill timed, for her childhood lover had returned to her life and entered it with such pomp and grandeur that she could not resist the handsome whelp. The girl, blinded by this infatuation ignored the pleadings of the man who had tutored her and poured his blood, sweat and tears into her voice. Bitter, he destroyed the opera house, seldom leaving the wreck it became. But people, hearing of him came and sought him out, and occasionally persuaded him to tell his tale. On one of the few occasions he ventured out of the hulk of the opera house, he told a part of it to a man at a tavern who wrote it down and came to the opera house to get the rest of it. The fool sold it for a few shillings thinking it only the ramblings of a deranged man."

"You're telling us naught but the story of Leroux's 'Phantom'." Cassie said flatly.

"Well, everything except the thing about the Phantom selling his soul to the Devil." Ryan added.

"How do you think Leroux got that tale?" Villefort said smiling down to where she was still grasping the arm of the chair, as if it were the only thing holding her to the earth. "And it's called artistic licensing my dear." He turned back to Ryan. "That sot wrote it down night after night in the bar. Paid me 50 francs for it and thought it would be enough. When it became a success, and I came to collect, he didn't want to give so willingly of his newly filled pockets. He only refused to pay once…."

"You can not be…."

"Why not? Don't believe in immortality little Cassandra?" The man stood and laughed maniacally. "You wouldn't though, being just a child. More and more came…all wanting something from the genius of the shadows….all wanting something of me. I gave what I could….a design for a statue….a great tower for some idiot named Eiffel….those idiots couldn't work details out themselves to save them. Modern times made it more difficult for me to hide and I went into exile during the wars. Horrible things those…." His eyes glazed over briefly before he plowed on with his strange tale. "Anyway, after centuries of living with deformity, modern medicine made it possible to eradicate it." He touched his face where the latex still hung. "Oh, I'd completely forgotten this…" He grabbed the latex and ripped it off flinging the gruesome monstrosity away. "Modern medicine! Plastic surgery!" he said touching his face. "They took away the scars and the exile and I was able to move about the world relishing in that which I never could before."

"You're lying…" Cassandra breathed.

"You're not so sure though." He said as he brushed the dark hair away from his face. It made sense though…the scarring on his face…it was from reconstructive surgery. "But I could not forget that girl from so long ago--the girl with the voice of an angel. I had to have her again."

"People don't live forever." Mark said flatly as he leaned against the wall of the cavern.

"Oh, she didn't." The man above them said. "She died quite penniless and unhappy with her lover, the Whelp. At any rate, I had to find someone to match her. I could forego her beauty, that could be easily fixed with modern medicine you see…but her voice. That could not be bottled or remedied." He smiled. "And so I traveled to schools listening to maidens sing their hearts out for me, singing out their souls to me and me alone." Cassie took the moment while he was absorbed with Ryan and Mark to move silently up the stairs to the level where the Phantom stood. "Cassandra just happened to be her exact look-a-like….in voice and physical beauty. Now, she is mine and neither you, nor your little friend, nor the police are going to keep her from me. She's mine, now and forever! I will have her forever. I'm the one that sabotaged the production, the monster who haunted her dreams….your rival! She's quite passionate…if she kisses you with half the passion she does me, well then, I can see why you took such a fancy in her." He laughed at the shocked look on Ryan's face but misunderstood it. "Oh, didn't you know that she harbored feelings of love and devotion to me? That she was going to betray you for me?"

"I think not!" Cassie said as she rushed from her position at the top of the stairs and pushed Villefort forcefully off the edge of the level of the lair. He caught her wrist as he toppled backwards and the two of them fell from the edge into the murky, bottle green waters thirty feet below.

Cassandra hit the water with such a force that the air was knocked from her lungs. She was trapped in a swirl of fabric and wedding gown lace sure that she was going to die. She'd heard a shot go off when she'd tackled the Phantom, but couldn't feel anything in the cold of the water and the panic that had engulfed her. She calmed for a moment and watched as the bubbles forced from the air trapped beneath the layers of her dress moved to her right. She fought to right herself and followed the bubbles, forcing her way up. The world began to go black around her; she was not going to make it! The dress tangled around her knees and pulled her back, back where the green water turned black. Suddenly her hand was grabbed and she was pulled up to the surface of the water and took a grateful breath.

"Cassie! Cassie are you OK?" Ryan asked as he treaded water beside her and held her to the surface of the water. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't know…I don't know…" Cassie repeated. She was finding it difficult to swim with the fabric weighing her down and Ryan quickly pulled her to shallower waters lest they both be pulled under and drown. He half dragged her up onto the beach where Mark lay, his shoulder still bleeding. Cassandra sat heavily and looked around her. She looked down her body but could see no blood.

"I think I'm OK…..I'm not hurt." She laughed dryly. Ryan folded her into his arms and hugged her tightly and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. They sat for a long moment before Cassandra remembered Villefort. "I was never going to betray you for him, ever. I never loved him….I don't know where he got that, but he's crazy, he thinks he's the Phantom and that Christine Daaé was real and that I'm her reincarnation and he was the one behind all the crazy stuff!" Ryan rocked her back and forth as she continued to rant hysterically.

"He drugged me! He drugged me and brought me down here and I thought it was just a dream…I never saw his face---if I had known it was him I never would have…never for a minute!" Cassie was sobbing now.

"Shhh….I know; it's over now." Ryan held her to him and rocked her gently as she bawled into his shoulder. Her crying slowly subsided and she let Ryan stroke her wet and tangled hair as she sat in his arms.

"Wait, where is he?" Cassandra pushed away from Ryan and looked to where Mark was staring. "I didn't…."

"It's OK Cass…he was going to kill us all." Ryan pulled her back to him and held her so she wouldn't have to look back at the monstrosity that was her instructor.

The body of Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, the man they all knew as Richard Villefort, lay face down in an expanding cloud of his own blood. He'd accidentally shot himself when Cassandra had knocked him into the water and had drowned beneath her wedding dress. The woman he loved, and the plan he had so meticulously thought out had backfired and killed him.

"He said he was immortal, that he'd sold his soul to Satan to get here….he said he was immortal…that he told Leroux the story and made him famous."

"I know, but I think it's just more craziness." Ryan said.

"We can't just leave him floating there Ryan…no matter how crazy he was we have to pull his body out of the water." Mark said trying to stand up.

"You stay where you are….you're in no condition to pull anyone anywhere." Ryan said rising reluctantly to his feet.

"Don't go near him…."

"Mark's right Cassie, we can't leave him floating in the water." Ryan swam out and pulled Villefort back to the beach and drug his body to a spot far from Cassandra and Mark. He dropped it unceremoniously on the floor.

"Is he…?" Cassie asked. Ryan rolled the man over with his foot and looked into a face that was pale and clammy with death.

"Yeah, he's dead." Ryan grabbed a piece of paper and dropped it over what had once been the handsome face of Rick Villefort. He went back to where Cassie continued to stare at the body of the man who had been her instructor, who had schooled her voice and given her the gift of confidence. The same man who had terrified her, drugged her, kidnapped her and had been intent on marrying her.

"Let's get out of here….let's just go…." Cassie said quickly tearing her gaze away from the grizzly sight.

"We can't get out….the water is rising fast in the lake and there's no way to get the boat out by now….." Ryan said. "you can't swim in that and Mark can't swim at all, not with him being shot…" Cassandra's hands shook as she grasped Ryan's hand as he looked at her. "Who is he? He can't really be the Phantom…can he?"

"I don't know…nothing he said made any sense to me….he admitted that he drugged me and Mark." Cassie answered. "He said he wanted to get into a position to get close to me…that Mark leaving was the best thing that ever happened because it put him on stage closer to me. He said he was the one stealing costumes and messing with things." Cassie looked up at Ryan. "He said that the man from the gala was really a descendant of the Rat catchers. That Mr. Giles is related to him."

"No way." Mark said.

"Yes….he said Mr. Giles didn't believe us when we told him about these things happening because he never believed the stories his father told him when he was little…his father was French born and was raised here, in the opera house." Cassandra relayed the rest of what she'd learned from the Question and Answer session she'd had with the Phantom.

"Explains a lot of why the Embassy and French couldn't figure out who he was." Mark said quietly. He lay back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Mark!" Cassandra crawled towards him and touched his face with her hand. He felt hot but she wasn't sure if it was because he was running a fever or because she was icy cold. She stood with effort as Ryan tried to rouse Mark. She lifted the heavy, shredded skirts of the wedding dress. It was destroyed. Between the water damage and all her crawling and dragging around in it, the once beautiful gown was ruined; the winter white stained a smoky gritty gray color. She staggered towards the chair where the Phantom's knife was still embedded in the arm of the chair. She pulled it from the chair arm and slashed into the cumbersome material at her knees. The material fell from the dress and lifted a considerable amount of weight from Cassandra's body. She slashed a few more layers from what was left of the skirt and went back to where Mark and Ryan sat. Mark's eyes were open but he seemed groggy…the blood stain on his shirt broader.

"We've got to get him out of here." Cassandra said from the middle of the room. "We've got to get out of here, we can't wait for aide."

"What do you suggest?" Ryan asked sitting back on his heels. "Is there another way out?"

"I don't know." Cassandra looked around and began looking behind curtains and under furniture for a way out. Her survival mode kicked in and she dashed around the lair frantically. She was in the bedroom tossing things out of her way when Ryan came in and hugged her to him.

"God, I thought I'd lost you." Ryan said as he held her in his arms. "I thought I'd never see you again, that that mad man had taken you from me."

"I was terrified…I didn't know what to do. And then you and Mark showed up and I was sure that he was going to kill you." She felt Ryan's arms tighten around her. "I just want to get out of here now."

"Uh…guys?" Mark's weak voice echoed against the dense walls of the cave. "We've got trouble." Ryan and Cassie rushed from the bed chamber and looked down the lair to where Mark still sat at the Beach. The water was lapping at his side.

"The water is rising." Ryan said softly, his voice echoing down to Mark.

"I didn't think I was totally losing it." Mark said. "Now what?" Cassie continued her mad hunt for a second way out with Ryan's help but they found nothing. She wracked her brain for everything and finally sat heavily at the top of the stairs. She stared blankly at the broken mirror across from her…the only broken mirror in the whole wretched place.

"That's it." Cassie said pointing at the broken mirror. "It has to be." Ryan knelt beside Mark and watched as Cassie went to the desk at the foot of the stairs and picked up a large rock that lay beside the blow gun that the phantom had discarded hours earlier. She hefted the rock in her hand and then pitched it at the mirror. The stone bounced off the mirror and rolled back to her. She picked it up and began bashing furiously at the glass which fell to her feet in ragged shards. There was a door behind it. Once she'd broken the glass completely away and pushed on it for several minutes with all the strength she could muster, she realized it was on a spring hinge.

"Ryan, help me look for the button!" Ryan and Cassie poured over the gilt framing on the mirror searching for the mechanism that would finally trigger the mirror.

"Found it!" Ryan shouted as he pushed down on a bump in the frame and the wood door jiggled and finally swung free revealing a long, dark, dusty passage way. "Let's go!"

"We can't leave him." Cassie said pointing at Villefort's body. "We have to take the body with us."

"No way." Ryan said lifting Mark to his feet.

"I'll support Mark, you wrap the body in one of the drapes….I'm not leaving that son of a bitch behind to come back to life or something." Mark staggered and went to Cassie as Ryan complied with her wishes.

"This is stupid." Ryan said as he wrapped the body in one of the heavy scarlet drapes. "This is real stupid."

"She's right, we can't risk his body just disappearing." Mark said. "Stranger things have happened. Let's just get out of here before it all floods." Mark, Cassie, and Ryan with the dead body wound their way through the dark subterranean passage ways for what seemed like hours. Eventually they came out onto the edge of the lake just as a group of police divers were making their way out of it.

"Hey! We're back!" Ryan shouted at the police. They turned, weapons drawn on the three teens coming through the darkness at them.

"Halt!" The officers shouted. Several American agents were there also, guns drawn and pointed.

"It's us!" Ryan shouted. Two of the French officers came forward and helped Cassie and Mark while two Americans took the body from Ryan.

"Who is this?" One of them asked.

"Villefort…."

"What? How?" One officer asked.

"He shot Mark and had the gun aimed at me. Cassie pushed him off the cliff into the water and when I pulled her out he was already dead." The agents looked down onto the dead body of the man and covered him with the heavy curtain.

"Where did you kids come from?" One of the Americans asked. "I know you two swam off but how did you get back without swimming back?"

"There's a way through there…." Cassie pointed. "This place is riddled with secret passages."

"You're the young lady he kidnapped?" Cassie nodded. "Do you know what he did to start this place to flooding? We've got plumbers on their way, but the ones we've consulted have no clue how he started this whole thing…." He waved his hand aimlessly at the lake. Cassie sloshed through the shallow water to the wall where the rusted fly wheel was and cranked it quickly. Slowly, the sound of water stopped and the lake turned still and glassy once again. The whole place descended into silence. "Oh….right."

"You're telling me you never tried the fly wheel?" Cassie asked.

"Well, no." The agent scratched his head sheepishly.

"He was right…you were clueless as to how to stop it…." She laughed to herself.

"We have to get him to the 'ospital." One of the Frenchmen said. "He needs medical assistance."

"Yes….let's get these kids out of here." The man said. He directed two of the French officers to lead the way, two of his agents taking up the rear while two more carried the body of the dead man.

Everyone was packed into the backstage area wondering what was going on. American field agents had stormed the stage as Villefort and Cassandra had disappeared. Mark reappeared and then he and Ryan vanished down the back passageway followed by several members of the police force. Mr. and Mrs. Giles, not knowing what was going on gathered the actors in the cafeteria area and tried to keep them calm which was near to impossible. Mr. Le Besprit had cornered Mrs. Giles and explained that Mr. Davagé was present and wondering what was going on.

"Bring him in." She said. She and Mr. Giles relayed the news to a shocked Charles Davagé.

"What do you mean 'he took her'. Took her where? For what reason?"

"We don't know. We have no clue how he did it or why. We just know he disappeared with her."

Matt held Mia in his arms. She'd done nothing but cry since the disappearance of her best friend. She'd begged Ryan before he disappeared to rescue Cassandra. Ryan had hugged her quickly before promising to bring her back.

"What if he dies too?"

"He won't. Mia, he's gonna bring her back. He and Mark and the police are going to get him before he does anything to Cassie." Matt said stroking Mia's back. He stared at the door where the police went in and out of. "I can't wait here anymore though." He sat Mia down at a table and kissed her quickly before he went and whispered with a bunch of the tech crew boys.

"We've been waiting in here for more than two HOURS for word of what's going on down there." He said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of just waiting."

"Yeah…but what are we gonna do?" One of the boys asked.

"We're gonna get as many people as we can together, we're gonna rush that door and we're going to fan out in the secret passage ways."

"What secret passageways?" Matt quickly explained about the secret passageways running throughout the opera house. Christian walked up part way through the conversation as did Mia.

"There no secret passageways."

"Yes there are…we've been in them." Matt argued.

"Prove it, Andrews." Christian said crossing his arms over his chest.

"You and Colleen O'Malley were fucking in the dormitories upstairs the day the stage was closed to everyone." Matt said with a straight face.

"Let's get to these secret passageways." Christian said after a moment of stunned silence. They moved throughout the cafeteria quietly and then, when everyone was grouped together they made a mass rush for the door.

"Wait! Get back to your seats!" Mr. Giles shouted. Mia made a run for Cassie's dad.

"Mr. Davagé, I only know you from pictures and Cassie talking so much about you. I'm Mia…a friend of hers from school and we're going to go look for them." She said clasping the man's hand. "You can come too….we're going to search for them in the passageways."

"Let's go…lead the way." He said following the press of high school students up to the main backstage area. Matt was standing up on a chair to get everyone's attention and breaking them into teams.

"No one is going to go off by themselves!" He shouted. "Stay in groups of five. Explore as far as you can." He bent down and picked up a series of head sets worn by the tech crew to talk with each other during the performance. "Each group leader will have one of these and we'll talk with each other and figure out where everyone's at. Everyone get the flashlights we passed out during the power out. I know you all still have them." Several of the girls ran upstairs and collected all they could find while Matt broke everyone into teams. "Now keep in contact, be alert, and stay safe. If you find any sign of Ryan, Mark, Cassie or that Son of a Bitch, radio your position to us, and we'll all go together is that clear?"

"Look!" One of the girls cried as a French police officer came up the narrow passage way from the subterranean lake.

"Have you found them?"

The man stood aside as another man helped the bleeding Mark up the stairs. Someone screamed and everyone made room for the two men to work their way through the crowd. "We're OK." Mark said to Mia as she pressed close to him looking worried. "She's fine."

Cassie and Ryan were next through the door followed by several of the field agents and then the two men carrying Villefort's body.

"Get these kids back to that Cafeteria!" One of them shouted. Everyone moved as one back to the Cafeteria. Mia rushed Cassie and hugged her tightly.

"Are you OK? Are you sure?"

"Fine Mia….A little rattled, but I'm fine." Cassie saw her father pushing his way through the sea of High School students and ran to him. "Daddy!" She burst into tears and sobbed as he held onto his baby girl. "Oh, Daddy I thought I'd never see you again."

She felt her father sob against her as he kissed her head, unable to speak.


	31. Til the fat lady sings

In all Cassandra had been gone from the stage six hours. Ryan and Mark had disappeared for Four and a half hours and the field agents had looked for them all for four hours. After their return and a mandatory trip to the hospital for examinations they'd returned for several grueling hours of interrogations. Cassie had to relay her ordeal to her father, Mr. and Mrs. Giles, the American field agents and the French Inspectors as well as to Mia, Matt and the rest of the students. It was five in the morning before she got to even think about going to sleep. Mark was treated for a gunshot wound and released to return to the opera house where everyone bombarded him with questions.

The next morning the newspapers had come wanting to know what had happened but the students refused to talk about it and told them to talk to Mr. Giles. The article in the paper the next day was filled with more questions than answers.

The astonishing events of the opera house unfolded before everyone's very eyes and mysteries that had been around for one hundred years were laid to rest.

Cassandra's father departed for Russia to close up some loose ends the day before the students were to leave Paris.

"Daddy, really…I'm OK. Besides shooting me with a blow dart and a couple of bruises and scrapes, he didn't hurt me at all. I'm fine." Cassandra had told him. But he wouldn't listen.

"I'm moving you into a maximum security dormitory at that conservatory. You're lucky to be even going there….I shouldn't allow you in a conservatory, but a convent."

"Daddy…" He hugged her close to him and wouldn't let her go for sometime.

"I'll meet you in Austin. Mia's mom is going to put you up for a few days and then we'll get you moved in to your place at the conservatory."

"Yes, so you've said sixty seven times before this. I understand the plan dad, don't worry about it."

"I do worry….I can't lose you too." Charles hugged his daughter tightly before getting in the cab. "I'll see you at Mia's in a week. I'll be there as soon as I get everything settled out in Russia for a few weeks."

"Yes Dad."

"And be good! No hiding behind closed doors with Ryan young lady!" Cassie waved as the cab pulled away. Ryan came up and slung his arm around Cassie's shoulder.

"Well, now that we've ditched the old man, what do you say to a hotel room and….what is it that Mia says….'Hot Passionate Monkey Sex?'"

"I'm not going to have hot passionate monkey sex with you Ryan." Cassie said going back inside. "You heard my father. I'm not allowed to hide behind closed doors with you."

"So we'll leave the door open." Ryan said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Cassie laughed and returned to her room and finished packing.

She and Ryan hadn't had a spare moment since the ordeal that night. Their last night in the Opera house, only three days after their final performance, Ryan knocked at the wall in Cassandra's room and sat on her bed as she finished packing her bags.

"Am I ever going to see you, or is your dad going to squirrel you away forever?"

Cassie folded the shirt she was holding and placed it into her suitcase before going to sit on her bed beside Ryan.

"You'll see me. He'll calm down in a few weeks."

"Few weeks?" Ryan smiled slightly. "Might as well be a few years! I've seen you at least a little bit every day for the past couple weeks….and before that five months! This is going to feel weird leaving here."

"I know what you mean. Now that everything has settled down I wouldn't mind staying a few more days…"

"Yeah." Cassie moved to sit in Ryan's lap and laced her hands behind his neck.

"But you're going to be at NYU, and I'm going to be at the New York Conservatory and we're going to see each other between studies. Promise?"

"I promise." Cassie kissed him slowly and felt his arms wrap protectively around her.

"Hey, Cassie….oops!" Mia walked back out the door and into the hall seeing Cassandra in Ryan's arms. Cassie rested her head against Ryan's shoulder and laughed.

"Is that a talent of hers or something?" Ryan asked as Cassandra continued to laugh. "No seriously!" Cassie pressed her lips quickly to his effectively silencing him.

"She won't come in anytime soon now."

The file on the Phantom, or Richard Villefort, or whatever name he intended on using, was sealed and the students were begged to forget everything they ever thought they knew about their instructor for the legal authorities could find and prove nothing. Everyone had helped to load the big truck and they got all their suitcases on the bus early the next morning. Their flight was leaving before the sun was to rise and most students hadn't gone to sleep the night before. Cassie and Ryan sat in the back of the bus and stared out the window as they pulled away from the Opera House. They were escorted through the city by police and bustled into the airport to go through the customs process. The American field agents held Mr. Giles back as the students went through security and congregated at the gate. It was a long boarding process and once again Ryan and Cassie found their seats secluded at the back of the plane.

Half way through the flight Mr. and Mrs. Giles were standing near the stewardess's station talking in quiet whispers. Ryan roused slowly and listened to their conversation.

"….and the body was gone. There's no record that anyone signed for it."

"But who would have taken him? He had no family."

"I don't know. I specified for him to buried in a Potters field…no one would have claimed him."

"That's odd." Mrs. Giles hissed. "But why did they tell you?"

"I don't know, I think they thought I wanted to know where he was." Mr. Giles said as he took a cup of coffee from the stewardess. "Honestly, I don't care. He's dead and nothing can change that."

"He's dead….nothing _will_ change that." Cassie said opening her eyes and looking up at Ryan. "Nobody lives forever."

Four and a half years later Cassandra stood on the stage singing in her Senior Ensemble. She was graduating with a degree in stage performance and was already singing in the chorus of a Broadway production. It would only be a few more years before she was billed in a leading role and everyone knew it. She smiled out onto the crowd gathered and laughed as Ryan, Matt and Mia, and a dozen or more of Ryan's fraternity brothers shouted and whistled as if they were at a hockey game instead of a concert. She took a bow and went back stage.

"Lover you were spectacular!" Sean, one of her accompanist's said with a broad smile kissing her cheek. "When are we going to get married so I can have your babies?"

"Ha! When you give up men!" She laughed. He was flamboyantly gay and he and Cassie had talked about men several times, even taking him man hunting with Mia a few times. Sean had become one of her best friends at the conservatory taking the place Mia had occupied when they'd been at St. Isabel's. Sean turned away from her and batted his eyelashes coyly.

"I'll give up men when you do!"

"You better get back out there! They want an encore." The stage manager said.

"Go on!" Sean pushed her towards the middle of the stage.

"What shall I sing?" She asked hurriedly.

"Do _Angel of Music_!" Sean shouted as he took up a place at the piano. "I'll play! It can be our final duet!"

Cassie had avoided singing anything from _The Phantom of the Opera_ for a year after their return from Paris; the events too traumatic to deal with. One drunken evening at a flat in the Village Ryan and Sean talked her into singing. Cassie had boldly climbed up onto a table and had broken into _All I Ask of You, _Ryan and Sean accompanying her drunkenlyThe party had come to an abrupt halt to hear it and everyone cheered Cassie's performance and had told Ryan and Sean not to quit their day jobs.

Cassie sang _Angel of Music_ as her encore performance and took one last bow at the conservatory, the crowd shaking the rafters with their applause. She made a mad dash to the wings where Ryan, Mia, Mark and Matt stood with her father, as well as all her other friends and admirers from the conservatory.

"You are spectacular!" Ryan said as he spun her around. "Top grades in her class, beautiful, and talented! What more could a guy ask for, eh?" He said planting a passionate kiss on her lips. Cassie and Ryan were no longer shy about public displays of affection in front of her father; they were engaged and had been for about a year.

"Ryan, let's go get the cars so we can all go out to eat and celebrate. Besides, I'm sure Cassie has quite a few more people she needs to talk to and things to do." Ryan and her father disappeared and Cassie was shuffled from one group to another by the stage manager so she maximized her face time.

It was a mad blur and a press of people around her and she was all smiles; a successful, talented and polite, star. The stage manager was taking her to be introduced to another producer when she was suddenly cut off from him, pressed against one person in front and one on the back she could hardly move when she suddenly had something pressed into her hand and heard a voice at her ear.

"_I knew you'd understand the symbolism….I hoped you hadn't forgotten me." _She whipped around searching for the green eyes she knew she should have seen and then looked down at what she held.

Ryan returned and found Matt and Mia standing to one side looking into the press of people.

"We lost track of her a few minutes ago." Matt said. "I don't know where she is. It was several minutes more before the stage area cleared enough for them to see Cassandra standing in the middle of the room stock still and looking perplexed.

"Cassie?" Ryan walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder when she didn't respond. "Cassie, what have you got there?" He asked when she turned, staring at something in her hands.

"He's here." Cassie said staring at Ryan. She held out the blood red rose, tied with the black ribbon and watched as realization dawned on his face. "Everything's changed…."

_Well, that's going to end it kids. I know it's a bit…'cliffy' but that's just the way I wanted it to work. We couldn't have the Phantom _dying _now, could we? What kind of story would that be? I hope you all enjoyed it and thank you very very much for all the wonderful reviews. :-D Have a safe and merry holiday season!_


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